Taken
by redsandman99
Summary: The Lawson's lives are turned upside down when a crazed man sets out to take something very precious from them.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome back to Vermi and mine's continuing series of stories. This one is our little sequel to Hurricane and I have to warn you all now, as this story goes on, there will be some rather disturbing chapters. We unleashed a special brand of hell in this one and it won't be for the weak of heart. **

"What do you want to have Jamie? A boy or a girl?"

James considered Mindy's question carefully as he munched on the chocolate covered popcorn that Chelsea was absolutely insisting on feeding him. The three of them were sitting on the dining room floor, Chelsea hugging Stickers and stuffing her cute little hamster cheeks with popcorn while James and Mindy were trying their best to get Elizabeth to work. She had managed to stand up a few times but kept falling on her ass after only taking a step or two. "Oh I don't know," he said slowly. "As long as-"

"I know you want a healthy baby Jamie darling," Mindy said as she played with Elizabeth's hair. "But what if you could have healthy? What then Jamie?"

"Uh…" James had to think about that one for awhile. "A boy maybe…I could call him…Mini Me." He put his pinky up to his mouth Dr. Evil style, making Mindy laugh and Elizabeth try to imitate him. Chelsea frowned and shook her head before shoving yet another handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"Eat Daddy," she ordered. She watched him carefully, making sure he chewed and swallowed the food before going back to eating it herself.

"Thanks Princess," James said. "That hit the spot."

"Come on Lizzie Bear," Mindy said, helping Elizabeth up to her feet once again. "Go to Daddy. Walk to Daddy you can do it."

"Da!" Elizabeth managed to take a couple of steps forward but fell back on her butt once again. "Aww, it's okay Lizzie Bear," Mindy cooed. "you'll get it." She took Elizabeth back into her lap and bounced her lightly, making her smile and laugh.

"Mum mum mum!"

"What would you like to have Baby Doll?" James asked, bringing the topic back to their unborn child. They had both been over the moon since finding out the good news and neither of them had really been able to stop talking about it. "Girl or boy?"

"Well…" Mindy stopped and accepted the food that Chelsea insisted on giving her. "I've got lots and lots of girl names picked out but only one boy name."

"And what's that one Baby Doll?"

"Aiden."

"Aiden Lawson…it's got a nice ring to it."

Mindy shook her head. "You can name the baby anything you want Jamie."

"No no no Baby Doll. I want us to name our baby together." He reached out and grabbed her hand. "I really do like Aiden Baby Doll. It's a good name." He kissed her hand and then leaned forward so he could kiss her on the lips. "Now…" he returned to his original spot and clapped his hands together eagerly "come to Daddy Lizzie Bear. Or do you want to walk to Mommy instead? Its your choice Lizzie Bear."

Elizabeth looked back and forth between her parents before grinning and getting up to her feet once again. "Da da da!" She took one step and then another and another…James and Mindy both literally held their breaths until she managed to make it over to him.

"Yay!" Mindy cheered. She clapped and cheered as James hugged and kissed Elizabeth. "She did it! Lizzie bear did it!"

"That's our girl," James said proudly. He kissed her over and over again, beyond happy at the moment. "Our Lizzie Bear is such a good baby." He kissed her one more time before turning her around. "Now go to Mommy! You can do it Lizzie Bear come on!"

"MUM MUM MUM!" Elizabeth was completely hamming it up since she was in the center of attention and she went right back to Mindy, squealing as Mindy pulled her into her embrace and showered her with kisses.

Chelsea watched all of this very carefully, not entirely pleased that her mommy and daddy were devoting all of their attention to Elizabeth at the moment. "Come on Stick-ers." She walked over to Mindy and set Stickers down by her before going back over to James. "Come on Stick-ers!" she ordered, beckoning her pet just like James had just done to Elizabeth. "Come on Stick-ers. Come to Chelsea!"

James chuckled and pulled Chelsea into his lap as Stickers dutifully came to her as ordered. "Are you doing what I do Princess?"

"Yes." Chelsea pulled Stickers into her vice grip (where he seemed to be permanently living these days) and looked up at James until he kissed her forehead. "My daddy."

He chuckled again and gently played with her hair. The smile faded a bit though as Amber walked into the room. Things were still bad between the both of them and nothing he said or did was making it better. It was really frustrating to him and he was really starting to get depressed over the whole matter, although he did his best to hide that fact from everyone else. "Hi Pumpkin," he said, giving it another shot even though he knew she wasn't having any of it.

Amber's eyes narrowed and she made it a huge point to not speak a word to him.

"Ambieloo?" Mindy said, not liking what was going on between her and James.

"I'm just going to go grab a snack Mommy," Amber said, giving James another dirty look before heading into the kitchen.

James sighed and wilted, making Mindy immediately take Elizabeth with her over to him so she could start kissing him. "I love you Jamie," she said, making him smile and drop his head against her like the giant puppy dog he was when it came to her.

"I love you more Baby Doll," he said, which earned him a shake of the head and a tap on the lips.

"No no no. I love you MORE Jamie Paul. And Amber loves you too."

James shook his head. "I don't think so. Not anymore." He glanced back towards where Amber had been seconds ago and sighed. He knew how she felt about him and the whole Connor coming home today thing was probably making things even worse. He knew the twins were certainly not pleased about the news and he knew Mindy wasn't either. With the way their relationship had become strained, Mindy wouldn't have minded if Connor had gone away forever. But Connor was his son and they all knew the Canada wasn't going to be for forever. Cooper was at the airport right now to pick him up. Originally James had been planning to pick him up but Mindy had gotten in his ear and had pointed out that if Cooper was going to be responsible for watching Connor on a constant basis now, he might as well get started right away. And while James didn't really trust Cooper by any means, he had done what Mindy had suggested and sent Cooper off to the airport. At the very least, seeing his brother alive and healthy again might help with Connor's behavior.

Mindy saw the look on James's head and frowned, not pleased with the expression she saw on it. She glanced around the room to see if there were any other kids besides Chelsea and Elizabeth hanging around before grabbing James's hand and placing it between her legs. "Baby Doll-" he started to say, raising his eyebrows at her actions.

"Guess what I'm not wearing," she said coyly, rubbing her pantyless pussy against his hand.

His pupils dilated and he instantly felt a tightness in his jeans that could be satisfied in only one way. In a flash he was on his feet and he had her, Elizabeth, Chelsea and Stickers in his arms and was carrying them up to his and Mindy's room. The girls and Stickers could bond while he and Mindy had some fun of their own.

…

"Coopy Coopy Coopy!"

Cooper easily caught Connor as he jumped into his arms and couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face. It felt nice to have someone be genuinely glad to see him. While he was still living at the house for now, he knew he wasn't really wanted there. The whole Connor watching thing they were putting him on had to be the only reason he hadn't been thrown out on his ass. And he was trying to just deal with it. What else could he do? He didn't have anywhere else to go and maybe the whole Connor duty was what he needed. At least it could help keep him from falling back on to his bad habits. "Were you good while you were gone?"

"Of course!" Connor answered. What else was he going to say? He could blow up a building and still insist that he had been a good boy. "I was Coopy, I really was!" He looked back at the approaching Nattie for support. "Tell him Nattie! Tell him what a good boy I was!"

"He was a good boy," Nattie said, setting Connor's stuff down as David and Tyson brought over Snoopy and Spike's kennels. "A very good boy." She ruffled Connor's hair affectionately and laughed when he licked her face like a dog. "Where's James?"

Cooper shrugged. "Last I checked he was home."

Nattie's eyes narrowed a bit. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. He was going to be the one picking up Connor here but then I guess it was decided they were going to test me with the whole earning my keep thing and I got sent alone instead." He tried to set Connor back down on his feet but Connor kept his arms and legs wrapped around him stubbornly. "Connor…"

"What?" Connor said innocently. "I MISSED you Coopy." He licked the side of Cooper's face, making the older man wrinkle his nose in disgust. "I'm glad you came to pick me up. So are Snoopy and Spike. We've missed you lots and lots."

Cooper sighed and rubbed Connor's back. "I missed you too." He looked at the former Hart Dynasty. "Can you guys-"

"We'll get the stuff to the car," David assured him. "But then you're on your own."

"Thanks." Cooper waited until Connor's things were picked up before leading the way and carrying Connor the car. While the luggage was being put in the trunk, Spike's kennel was put in the backseat and Snoopy was let out so he could sit up front with Connor on the way home.

"I love you Coopy," Connor said as he scratched a spot behind Snoopy's ears and Cooper got them on the road. "Snoopy loves you too. Don't you Snoopy?"

Snoopy barked dutifully and wagged his tail.

"See?" Connor said proudly.

Cooper just shook his head. "Well we're going to be putting that one to the test."

Connor frowned. "What do you mean Coopy?"

"Look, there's stuff we need to talk about."

"Is it about the new baby? Because I already know about that Coopy."

"No, it's not about that. Listen-" Cooper actually pulled over and snapped his fingers in front of Connor's face. "Are you listening?"

"Yes," Connor said, jerking his head away from Cooper's fingers. "I am listening don't do that."

"You better be," Cooper warned him. "Now look, I'm in charge of you, okay? And me being able to wrangle you is an important part of me keeping my neck-"

"What's wrangle mean Cooper?"

"It means keeping you under control. I need you to listen to me-"

"I AM listening to you Cooper!" Connor said with a roll of his eyes. "I just-"

"Not just now Connor. From now on, I need you to listen AND behave yourself. You got that? Things are not going to be good between you and Mom and you and the babies and I am telling you right now that you are not allowed to make the situation worse, you hear me?"

"But Coopy-"

"No, let me finish. I'm telling you this shit because I love you. What I want you to do is just stick with me and keep your head low and your mouth shut, you got me? Don't start being mouthy and whiny and bratty, especially around Mom and Amber because Mom has no more rope left for you and Amber is just…well she's being a bitch."

Connor snorted and giggled manically before stopping when he saw the look Cooper was giving him. "What?" he said innocently. "They're not here and you're not going to tell on me, are you Coopy?"

"Well no…"

"Then why can't I laugh?"

Cooper sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Connor…just promise me you'll behave."

"I promise."

"Do you mean it?"

"Yeah." Connor frowned at the look on Cooper's face. "What, you don't think I can do it?"

Cooper shrugged. "I don't know…"

"Are you saying I can't do it?" Connor asked, his eyes narrowing at the insinuation.

"Maybe." Cooper was completely baiting Connor because he knew it would help guarantee success. Connor didn't like being told he couldn't do things and would often do them to spite the nay saying.

"I can too!" Connor insisted vehemently. "I can I can I can!" He balled up his fists and bounced up and down anxiously. "You just wait and see Coopy. I'll be the best boy ever."

"You better be," Cooper muttered. "Or you're signing my death warrant."

…

"Look at the birdies Lizzie Bear," James said as he carried Elizabeth around their backyard tropical paradise. "You see them Lizzie? You see the birdies?"

Elizabeth looked at all the birds before shaking her head and blowing a raspberry at them, making him laugh loudly. And unbeknownst to him, a lens on a camera zoomed in on his daughter's face and began snapping pictures wildly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Cathy** and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: Oh yeah, that definitely is needed. This grease ball is only getting started unfortunately.

…

Connor's welcome home brigade wasn't exactly high in numbers. He had walked in the door with both Snoopy and Spike to see Chelsea glaring at him while holding an orange raccoon who apparently went by the name 'Stickers'. Snoopy came barreling their way at first and Stickers made some crazy-ass hissing sound, which frightened Chelsea and she screamed.

"NO Snoopy, NO!" horrified she held Stickers above her head and tried to run away from the dog, who was just happy to see her and wanted to say hi. Stickers didn't want to get that though. The red panda still hissed and tried to wriggle out of Chelsea's hold to get at the beagle when she ran faster into the kitchen, "NO Snoopy!"

"Oh come on!" Connor rolled his eyes while looking to Cooper expecting him to help him out, "He just wants to say hi!"

"NO SNOOPY!" she shrieked, "NO NO NO! DADDY!"

The dog caught up to her and jumped up from behind, knocking little Chelsea flat on her face so Stickers ran away and he licked her tiny ears as she lay. She didn't move from the ground and just cried hysterically from her spot on the floor.

"CHELSEA?" speak of the devil. From Tryg's room came Mindy with him in hand, barreling down the stairs and ignoring Connor standing in the door with Cooper to find Chelsea just lying face down crying so hard Mindy couldn't even take it. "CHELSEA!" down on her knees she dropped and actually knocked Snoopy off her back like a wild animal and the dog yelped.

"HEY!" that caught Connor's attention and he bolted into the kitchen to see Mindy pulling a screaming Chelsea into her lap and rub the terrified baby's back as Stickers came back into the kitchen. "What was THAT for?"

"Connor…" immediately Cooper tried to make himself comfortable when Taylor scurried in with Thorn and Scarlett. Tryg had been there too, giving Connor what could have passed as his version of the evil eye before walking next to his mother and moving her hair from behind her shoulder.

"OH god!" Taylor gasped before screaming at the sight of Connor in the kitchen, "You came BACK?"

"I LIVE here, stupid!" Connor shouted at the permanent nanny who technically was now Mindy's legal adopted daughter and scowled, "It's MY Daddy's house!"

"CONNOR STOP!" Mindy shrieked in a volume that could have shattered glass before standing with Chelsea and trying to get her to stop crying still, glaring at Snoopy and switching her attention back to Connor, "You want to do something CONTROL THAT FUCKING DOG!"

"YOU hit him you DID!" Connor screamed at her and wanted to charge but Chelsea screamed and Cooper held him back quickly, "YOU HIT HIM! Animal abuser!"

That snapped all sorts of nasty things in Mindy's head and she barred her teeth while stamping towards him while holding her daughter, "Now you listen to ME, you fucking retard…" wrinkling her nose she pointed to Snoopy and curled her fingers over Chelsea's head, "You control that mutt before I knock your fucking face in, you got me?"

"HE WAS PLAYING!" Connor shouted and tried to get to Snoopy but Cooper restrained him, "He was PLAYING he was being FRIENDLY but she's just STUPID and ran away with that mean raccoon!"

"Your lack of regard knocked my baby flat on her face and he thinks its okay" she nodded at him with barred teeth but shook her head, "Well I got news for you. If that mutt does as much as look at my children the wrong way again he's out in the fucking backyard"

"YOU don't make the rules-"

"In that case you can join him" she nodded with big eyes at him and stormed out of the room with Chelsea, grabbing Stickers by the scruff of his neck and lifting him for Chelsea. The toddler shot Connor a dangerous glare before hugging Stickers and pointing him out to Stickers.

Confused at the noise going on from outside the house, James had come in with Elizabeth to hear Chelsea's subsiding screams and see Connor trying desperately to break out of Cooper's grasp to get at Mindy.

"What's going on in here?"

"SHE HIT SNOOPY SHE DID!" Connor screamed at James frantically, "SHE'S MEAN! SHE'S MEAN SHE'S MEAN SHE HIT SNOOPY! HE WAS PLAYING!"

Knowing how highly unlikely it was for Mindy to ever do as much as look at an animal the wrong way James frowned, "What are you talking about? Connor?"

"Snoopy came in and knocked Chelsea on her face by accident" Tryg surely had no problem tattling and Connor didn't like that one bit.

"Oh…" James frowned and shrugged, "Well…"

"Connor didn't stop him" Tryg nodded and to Connor this was just Benedict Trygger, "but he didn't. Snoopy jumped all over Chelsea when she ran away and Connor didn't stop him, Daddy"

"Oh yeah?" Connor asked Tryg nastily though he really didn't want to do this, "Well THAT'S not your daddy! That's MY daddy! Your daddy is DEAD!"

James opened his mouth but no sound came out, just as Amber suspected and she shook her head while standing in the doorway with Taylor, who exchanged a furtive glance with Cooper and they could only shake their heads.

"I hated him anyway!" Tryg yelled at Connor with balled fists, "At least Mommy's not my daddy's SISTER! SICKO!"

The fear of the repercussions made James not scold Tryg for that comment in any way, but Connor was beyond disappointed in him and angry. He didn't care that Mindy would take heads again if James did as much as open his mouth to say something to one of her children especially concerning Connor…that shit just didn't fly with her and it never would. No one had the right to scold her children but her, and she didn't really ever make exceptions to that.

"So that's it?" Connor snapped at James who could only shake his head at him, "You're just gonna…" he kicked the wall and shrugged, "let her KICK Snoopy-"

"HEY" Cooper finally spoke up and shook his head, "Mommy didn't kick the dog Connor you KNOW that"

"Same thing!" Connor yelled at him and James shook his head.

"I don't want to hear anything of the sort from you right now, you understand me?" he growled when Connor kicked the wall again because he knew he wouldn't stop him.

…

"Dude…" Taylor's eyes got wide as she walked with a reticent Mindy under her arm with Amber, Cooper, and Elizabeth in the mall to go baby shopping for Aiden's upcoming birth, "I cannot believe Connor went off like that with that mangy dog"

"He's crazy with Snoopy" Cooper sighed while trying to steal a glance at Amber, who contently pushed Elizabeth in the stroller and made sure Mindy was right next to her very carefully.

"It doesn't matter" Taylor frowned and shook her head at Cooper since Mindy was in a schizophrenic flat funk. She normally got them after an emotionally trying incident such as a fight. "That dog shouldn't matter more than his little sister Coop"

Cooper's eyes widened in astonishment because she'd never ever used his real name in a sentence. It was always 'rich boy', but he figured now that she was officially rich too she'd get the label, 'rich girl' so she stopped.

"He doesn't really think that way" Cooper rubbed the back of his neck while pulling Mindy from under Taylor's arm and kissing the top of her head, "And I feel like shit but there isn't much I can do. Dad'll have my head if I even do as much as speak out of turn"

"And whose fault is that?" Taylor shrugged nastily, "Coop, I don't know what to tell you anymore with all of this because you used to pick of Mr. Lawson's boyfriend all day long and get away with it. NOW though if you do as much as look at anyone the wrong way you're hosed"

"Is letting Connor claw Mommy's eyes out any better?" Cooper shrugged and was also astonished that Mindy hadn't knocked him off her yet despite how much she claimed to suddenly hate him as of late for what he'd done to her.

"Don't get too comfy" came Amber's voice as she pushed the stroller passively, "she's in a funk right now…you wait until she's coherent again. She'll put your ass out right away and make you wish you were never born."

"Why?" Cooper sighed when Taylor ran a hand through Amber's hair to try and keep the peace.

"She's in a funk I guess" Taylor shrugged before Amber could talk again, "I thought you knew her really well"

"Non-schizo mode is a hell of a lot easier to understand than schizophrenic time"

"Well…" her eyes widened and she snorted, "no offense buddy…" Taylor's lithe hand went to his shoulder, "but I think even I'm capable of decoding her when she's not suffering from episodes and delusions. She's not THAT hard"

"My dad wouldn't be ramming his head in the wall if that were the case" Cooper countered right away when Taylor rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"I still think that Mr. Lawson doesn't get her either" her eyes went to Mindy just staring straight ahead and she shrugged, "I don't think anyone truly 'gets' her."

"I think maybe if everyone spent time WITH her instead of waiting for her to get like this to trash her you would" came Amber's nasty two cents and Cooper clung to Mindy for protection even though she really didn't know what was going on at the moment.

"Hun…" exchanging glances with Cooper and running a hand through her platinum blonde hair Taylor shrugged, "We never trash Mommy, alright? We love her just as much as-" her eyes widened at that glare coming her way from Amber so she changed her wording up as quickly as possible, "We really really really love her alright?"

"See?" Cooper rubbed Mindy's arm though he was a really bad one to use as that example.

"Whatever" Amber rolled her eyes and tried to find a place she could lose the older two in and just sit with her baby sister to play with her. She didn't want to deal with Taylor and Cooper, but being that Mindy was the one with the bank account of course they took her to the mall. As it was Mindy wasn't speaking to James anymore because he refused to address what Snoopy did to Chelsea and how Connor did absolutely nothing to stop it or hold the beagle back. In the midst of screaming at James she had made it perfectly clear that she would shoot the dog if he even thought about biting one of her children. Sure it could be all considered a big misunderstanding and maybe she was taking it too far by insinuating that she wanted to kill the dog for hurting her child, but what she was looking for through all that was James to at least prompt for Connor to control Snoopy instead of just letting the thing run free especially with little kids in the house. Chelsea had a disability, she couldn't grasp onto things the way the other kids could and being knocked over by the dog really wouldn't happen, but the way Mindy saw things when Connor did as much as walk in the door it was bad news. She hated him and no longer cared how mutual he felt. Now it was fire with fire and she didn't care. She simply didn't care.

"I have no idea what to do" Taylor flopped onto a bench and pulled Amber right next to her, watching how Cooper talked with a despondent Mindy not too far away.

"There's nothing 'TO' do" Amber shrugged and tucked some long blonde hair behind her hear, "James won't do jack shit about Connor and he's just gonna make Mom divorce him or blow her brains out again."

"Please don't talk that way" she frowned while watching Amber pull Elizabeth into her lap and feed her a bottle. A camera lens zoomed in on Elizabeth's face and snapped a hundred pictures a second.


	3. Chapter 3

**Cathy** and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: You know, you have a good point there. Since Connor clearly wasn't going to control Snoopy Cooper really should have stepped in and done something. *kicks him* Dumb Cooper. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Yay for being caught up. And yeah, that sadly seems like it's going to be the case.

…

James shook his head as he paced around Connor's room. It just absolutely amazed him how fucking fast things got so fucking shitty and it all got started with a puppy that had no idea why anyone would be mad at him ever. James knew that Snoopy hadn't meant any harm but the facts were that he knocked Chelsea over, Connor did nothing to stop him, Mindy blew up because of it and he knew he was more than likely in trouble now too on top of it all. This was definitely NOT the way he wanted Connor's return to go. He had wanted things to be at least a little bit better-a little would have helped a lot-but that had failed on an epic scale and things were just as bad, if not worse than before.

"You're just going to let her get away with it, aren't you?" Connor asked sullenly. He was sitting cross legged on the bed, cradling Snoopy in his arms while Spike slept in the corner. She hit Snoopy and she's gonna get away with it."

"Connor don't," James said shortly. "Just-"

"Why? Why is it always me that has to stop?" Connor shook his head and scratched a spot behind Snoopy's ears. "Snoopy was just trying to say hi! He wasn't trying to be mean and hurt Chelsea!"

"I know that," James said. "But Connor, you should have GRABBED him and STOPPED him before he knocked Chelsea over. She's a baby, she-"

"Nobody ever had a problem with Snoopy before!" Connor pointed out, too worked up to really attempt to listen to what James was saying. "Not her or the babies! Snoopy's a baby too, he didn't mean it! He didn't need to get hitted!"

James rubbed his temples in order to try to stop the migraine that he was getting. "Connor, Baby Doll was upset that Chelsea got knocked down. She would never set out to deliberately hurt Snoopy, she loves animals!"

Connor knew this fact but he wasn't really buying it at the moment. In his mind, he didn't have a reason in the world to believe anything James was saying. Mindy had hit Snoopy and he yelped which meant she hurt him. And if she was capable of doing that once, she could do it again and again and again, which made him want to scream it made him so upset. Snoopy was his baby. Sure he loved Spike and all but Snoopy was his very special puppy and besides from Cooper, his only real friend now. He had lost Tryg but he could deal with that because he had Snoopy. Snoopy wouldn't leave him or say shit about his real mommy.

Snoopy whined and tried to wiggle out of Connor's grip so he could go over to James. Connor wasn't about to let that happen though. While he was already determined to never take his eyes off Snoopy again, he was also determined to never let him go again unless it was absolutely necessary.

James sighed and stopped with the temple rubbing because it was doing absolutely no good. "Connor I know you're upset but-"

"You don't care though," Connor said sullenly. "You say that you do but you don't. All you care about is HER and making sure SHE and HER kids are happy. They're HER kids and you love them more than me! I'm YOUR kid, not them!"

"Connor that is enough!" James growled. "I don't want to hear another word like that out of your mouth again, do you understand me? I love "her" kids like they were my own so just stop!" He actually made the little finger quotations when he said the word "her" and the tone of his voice made Connor back down…for a few seconds anyway.

"Well why do they get to-"

"Connor Michael, I don't want to go there, alright?"

"But they don't like me and I can't-"

"Connor you did that yourself! YOU did! You turned on Baby Doll and you would NOT STOP! You made her feel like shit time after time after time and now she and the kids can't stand to be around you!"

"I don't care!"

"Yeah and it's driving me absolutely fucking insane!" The migraine James had just kept getting worse and worse and it was far from being done yet. "She loved you like you were one of your own and-"

"Now she hates me," Connor finished. "And she wants me and my puppy dead and you'll let it happen because if she wants it, it happens."

James wanted to strangle him; the only reason he resisted the urge was because he punched the wall as hard as he could, which was enough of an outburst to make Connor jump about a half a foot in the air. "God damn it Connor! Would you fucking shut up? That is NOT true! She's threatened to leave me because of you! She's not trying to take me away! She fucking has tried to leave me! She'll probably start talking like that again once she gets home! And I'm going to have to fight tooth and fucking nail to get her to stay! You drive her crazy Connor and whatever you are about to say better NOT leave your mouth right now!" He had caught Connor in the midst of starting to say some nasty comment and he wasn't about to hear it. He was just so far from in the mood that it he couldn't even begin to describe it. "You're my son and I love you and she's my wife and I love her and I HATE all this Connor! I HATE that its come to the point where the two of you can't be in the same room without wanting to tear the other's head off!"

Connor curled his lower lip and began biting at his nails. "You'll choose her over me," he mumbled. "You're crazy over her."

James threw up his hands in exasperation. "You know what I wish? I wish everyone would quit telling me what I'm going to do. I'm so SICK of people telling me what I'm going to say and what I'm going to do. It's beyond fucking frustrating!" His migraine was officially at the point where his eyes were just watering uncontrollably. He actually wanted to throw up the pain was so bad.

Connor didn't say anything in response to that. James took advantage of the silence and knelt down so he was eye to eye with Snoopy. "We're going to train you real good Snoopy," he said, shaking his head as Snoopy moved his head forward so he could lick James's face. "You caused a shit storm earlier and we need to make sure you don't jump on the kiddies anymore, okay?"

Snoopy just licked his face some more until he got tired of it. Then he made himself comfortable on Connor's lap and stared at his owner adoringly. He was just accepting the fact that he wasn't being let go any time soon because there was nothing else he could really do.

"Is Coopy home yet?" Connor asked, scooting back away from James and then rocking Snoopy like he was a little baby. "I want Coopy."

"Cooper's not here," James said shortly. He and Cooper were still not on good terms and he didn't even like hearing his name said out loud.

"I want Coopy," Connor said again stubbornly.

"I know." James got back up to his feet. "But he's not here." He got a sullen look in response to that. "You need to stay in here until I tell you its okay to come out." He still got nothing. "Connor? Did you hear me?"

"Yeah," Connor said reluctantly. "I heard you. You're making me a prisoner in my own house."

"You are not a prisoner," James informed him. "You're just staying in here until I tell you to come out. When Cooper comes home I'll send him up here to check on you but you need to stay in here until I say so, you got it?"

"Whatever." Connor looked down at Snoopy and shook his head. "You'll be safer in here anyway Snoopy. Nobody will hurt you in here. Not ever ever ever."

…

"Daddy!" Chelsea called out as she carried Stickers around her. She had been with Thorn and Scarlett but she wanted her daddy and nobody was going to stop her from going to him. "Daddy?" She climbed the stairs and went to James and Mindy's bedroom first. "Daddy?" There was no James. "Daddy?" She walked away from the bedroom and went into the bathroom next. There James was, leaning back against the wall and swallowing something. "Daddy!"

"Princess…" James picked her up as she came to him and hugged her tightly. "I love you Princess."

"Daddy…" Chelsea frowned at the pill bottle she spotted on the counter before looking back at James. He didn't look so good and she didn't like that at all. "No! No no no no!"

James was startled by the outburst. "Princess-"

"Bad sick! Bad! Not MY Daddy!" She was actually yelling at his "sick"…he could hardly believe it. "Go away!"

"Princess ssshhh," James said as quickly as he could to put her at ease. "I'm fine Princess. I just have a little headache but I took the medicine and its going to be better real soon."

Chelsea was not exactly convinced but she was momentarily distracted by his phone ringing. She waited until he took it out of his pocket before taking it from him. Unless it was Mommy, nobody was talking to her daddy while he was sick. "Hello?" she said robotically.

"…Hello?" It was Mark and he sounded confused as to why Chelsea was answering James's cell phone.

She gasped loudly and shook her head. "No! You can't have it! It's DADDY'S office!" She hung up the phone and handed it back to James. "Lay down Daddy," she ordered. She used the hand that wasn't holding Stickers to start touching his forehead. "Lay down with me and Stick-ers." She shook her head. "No Snoopy."

"No Snoopy," James agreed. "Me, you and Stickers. That sound good?"

"Yes." She hugged his neck and rested her head against his shoulder. "My daddy. Good Daddy."

…

James let Chelsea and Stickers sit on his chest while he laid on the couch and they watched It together. She was totally engrossed in the movie and had a death grip on Stickers so he could do nothing BUT watch. James was staring at the screen, but he wasn't really paying attention to what was going on. He had seen this movie so many times with her that he knew it by heart and at the moment he had more pressing things on his mind. Despite the desperate need to rest off the migraine, it wouldn't go away because his head wouldn't shut off. His mind was firmly on Mindy and Connor and it would just not stop.

The trial separation had been a bust. The time apart hadn't solved shit so he needed to come up with something more permanent. Of course he knew what Mindy was going to say. She would talk about leaving and then they would fight because he would absolutely, positively not accept that as an option. He loved her too much to let her go; there was no life for him without her. And he couldn't just send Connor somewhere far away again. Yes he was bratty and self centered and a whole bunch of other shit but he was also his son and he loved him. But it was selfish of him to try to make them live together. It wasn't fair to either of them and he didn't find it fair that he felt like he was expected to choose one over the other. Mindy would give him the all clear to choose Connor over her and Connor already believed he was going to choose Mindy over him. It was all just very frustrating.

So what the hell could he do? He had to do something and he had to do it now before another blow up happened. Mindy was pregnant, she didn't need this kind of stress. _And oh fuck, I didn't even think of this…Aiden. We're running out of room here._ He looked around the living room, his hand going up to the corner of his eye so he could try to physically stop the vein right there from twitching. The house was figuratively not big enough for Mindy and Connor and it was literally not big enough for the family as a whole. As it was, there were eleven people living in the house and Aiden would make twelve. That was cramped within itself and given the fact that Mindy could have babies again, more and more would be coming and they just couldn't stay in this house. They had to go somewhere bigger.

_A new house won't solve the problems…well wait, maybe it can…_James stared up at the ceiling as he mulled over the idea that had suddenly come up to his head. A big new house was needed but this house could still be kept…if Connor stayed in it. Connor wouldn't want to move anyway and if stayed here with Cooper (not James's first choice by any means but there were really were no other options that would make him happy). A big new house with more room for new babies would be big time beneficial and no Connor would make Mindy and the kids happy. And if they moved somewhere just close by, he could always make daily checks on Connor and spend time with him so it wasn't like he was just abandoning him…yeah, it wasn't the ideal situation that James wanted but what other choice was there? Things were what they were and they weren't going to change any time soon so he was just going to have to make the best of it.

"Daddy!" Chelsea said, frowning and shaking her head at him. "Watch!"

"Oh right, sorry Princess." He quickly returned his gaze to the TV screen. "I was just thinking."

"No more. Watch."

"I will Princess, I promise."


	4. Chapter 4

**Cathy**: Thank you! **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: In Mommy Dearest Cooper got all obsessed with Mindy and ended up raping her. That kind of puts a damper on any friendship right there. **jadeMK11**: Sicko photographer will be back so that shotgun will be needed. **Esha Napoleon**: James's ideas lately really haven't been working so that's a pretty safe assumption.

…

"So um…" James laced his fingers between Mindy's as he, Mindy, and Elizabeth all lounged in the Jacuzzi bathtub of his and Mindy's master bathroom, "how do you feel about moving?"

"Where, darling?" her lips pouted and her head nestled into the crook of his neck, breathing in the smell of his skin and giving it a quick kiss.

"Local, I guess…" he shrugged and placed a hand on her lower abdomen before kissing her throat, "I don't want us to be cramped and there's already so many of us"

"Sorry" her eyes dropped when he shook his head and kissed her.

"No, no, no don't you be sorry for anything our children are our children and I couldn't imagine a life without any of them"

"So what house do you think is big enough for us?" she frowned and breathed deeply through her nose, "I mean Malibu has twelve bedrooms and Bel-Air has fourteen…yes, California is far from you but I have not been there in-"

"We need to be close enough so I can make sure Cooper isn't raping the hell out of Connor…"

"What" her lips pouted, "What do you mean; I do not understand that-"

"Baby Doll…" running a hand through his wet-slick hair he exhaled and kissed the side of her head, "it's only best if Connor lived away from us"

"Because he hates me" she continued and James shook his head with a sigh.

"No…" he kissed her temple, "he doesn't hate you…I just need to get him away from here for a while so maybe he can take some time to adjust and…" he shrugged, "shake himself out of whatever nasty little funk he's slipped into"

"Hah" she shook her head with a snort and kissed his fingers, "fat chance. He hates me and my children soon to be our children as well"

"He doesn't even know what he's talking about" he waved her off slightly and shook his head, "His arguments have no substance and absolutely no proof of any kind of-"

"He still hates me"

"And we won't have to deal with him ever giving you a hard time, darling…" a hand of his went to her face and he shook his head, "we'll be gone from you and the babies and maybe…" he smiled weakly and kissed her, "we can try to get back on track so we're not fighting in the emergency room"

"Oh ha ha ha, Jamie Paul" she rolled her eyes and shook her head at him, "Very very classy Jamie. You sure know how to solve anything"

"What do you say?" his palm stroked her cheek and they kissed, "We'll have all the Connor-free time in the world if you do…"

"And what does this mean?" her lips twitched and she giggled before kissing him hard on the lips, "I really love you, James."

"It means…" smirking wryly he dipped a hand between her legs and rubbed while gliding his tongue into her mouth, "I get to do marvelous things to you whenever I want as long and hard as I want with no interruptions"

"Unless" her finger went in the air and they kissed, "babies that we keep making start to cry"

"Lizzie Bear doesn't fuss all-that much" he shook his head when Mindy snorted and leaned up to kiss him while gazing lovingly at Elizabeth.

"That is because she is our perfect little darling angel and we love love love her forever and ever, RIGHT booboo?" Mindy cooed and kissed the top of Elizabeth's blonde head since the baby was sleeping on her chest, and Elizabeth leaned up to get a kiss from her mother quickly.

"Damn right she is" James nodded while reaching a hand around to play with the blonde hair growing on Elizabeth's head.

"But I hear from everybody else she is a pain in the ass and Satan's child" she lifted a sopping wet Lammy from the tub to prove her point, but the second she removed the stuffed lamb from the water Elizabeth started screaming like a gremlin. Mindy's point was proven once Lammy was restored to his rightful owner but James just wasn't convinced in the slightest.

"Not MY Lizzie Bear" he shook his head and kissed the baby on the lips, "MY Lizzie Bear never ever cries for Daddy no she doesn't!" he and Elizabeth smiled mutually at the other, "She's so perfect I can't take it"

"Of course she is perfect" Mindy shrugged and motioned to the infant resting in her arms, "She came from YOU Jamie darling and she takes after you…that makes her the most perfect beautiful princess to ever live in my book"

"Why?" he knew the answer but he wanted to hear it, hell how he wanted to hear it come from her. He didn't know when the last time he heard these words was but they were desperately called for at the moment.

"Because" shrugging and eagerly accepting the deeper plunging of his fingers into her wetness she moaned happily, "You are perfect, Jamie. Everything that comes from you has to be perfect too."

"Does it?" he smirked when she nodded and they kissed, Elizabeth observing the way her parents touched each other before kissing James on the lips happily. One of Mindy's hands reached under the water and grasped James's cock, making him his happily and lean back while her hand moved under the water to get him ready for her. Both her legs were already spread completely to give him maximum range to finger and play with her as long as he could.

"Fuck" came her pained moan while trying to ride his fingers and stroke his hardening cock, "Fucking fuck me Jamie slow as you can"

"Slow?" helping her adjust Elizabeth and climb into his lap properly he let her stare at his stiff cock before lowering her onto it and torturously beginning to fuck her.

"Oh…!" that pace was something that really worked in the water and as he fucked her James slipped his long thick fingers into her mouth and let her suck them.

"Mmmm" only a few minutes in and James wanted to explode she had him so ready and constricted, "Cum for me, Baby Doll…please Baby Doll, cum"

"Cum?" licking her lips and then his, she nodded before looking for his hands, "Play with my clit, Jamie touch it"

"Only touch?" James frowned when one of his hands was placed between her legs and he rubbed the swollen bud as hard as he could. Her head went back violently and though it was hard to feel her juices under the water he knew she came hard for him. He himself came inside her and didn't wait to pull out. The very idea that another baby was in there made his head all confused and dazed. So long he thought Elizabeth was the end and now here they were breeding an army.

"Mmm" her hand touched his arm and he nodded at her to continue, "I have to blow you every single day as much as I can"

"On really?" now he was interested and she nodded along.

"Yes…but I have to swallow as much cum as I can because its good for the baby"

"Bullshit" he shook his head with a snort when her eyes got big.

"Hell no, are you kidding? Goog it! Cum is AMAZING for the baby and helps them get to know the father and everything it will be healthy and-"

"Well…" chuckling cheekily he shrugged and kissed her as hard as he could, "If it's for the baby…"

…

"Oh my god so where are we moving to?" Taylor scampered alongside Mindy in the kitchen as her foster mother happily made dinner that night with the twins and Amber. Tryg was trying to teach Chelsea how to play Trouble, but every time it was her turn Chelsea would bend down over the game board and try to eat the plastic bubble in the middle with dice in it. James had taken Elizabeth god knows where doing god knows what but no one could pry that baby from him even if they had a hacksaw. It was all about Lizzie Bear because she was Daddy's perfect little angel.

"I want California" Mindy nodded with a frown and Taylor's eyes widened excitedly.

"Oooohh REALLY? Oh my god, Mom-"

"It will not happen" she shrugged with a shake of the head as Amber stirred the rice concoction Mindy had made in a large silver pot.

"And why not?" Taylor frowned when Mindy sniffled and dropped her eyes to the floor.

"He wants to stay here I have to do what he wants, especially because the other two rays of sunshine are not living with us"

"Why?" that came out as a gasp, "Mommy, that's not even fair why can't he just hire an aid to come in and live with Connor? Coop doesn't deserve to be stuck with THAT his entire life!"

"I know" Mindy shrugged and ran a hand through her hair, "But what would you like me to do? Jamie said when we build our new house" her face fell, "HERE…of course…that Cooper is going to babysit Connor and he will regularly check on him"

"You know what that's going to mean, right?" Taylor raised an eyebrow and Mindy shrugged, running a hand through the hip-length mess of hair and slapping her thigh, "Knowing how Connor works Mr. Lawson is going to live here and commute to wherever the hell he moves you guys"

"I know" her face fell and she shook her head nastily, "I wanted a divorce but he would not let me."

"Of course he didn't" Taylor shrugged and gestured towards Mindy's figure, "Look at you. I wouldn't divorce you either if I were a guy"

"I WANTED to though is the point…the way Connor sees things I am stealing Jamie from him and that is SO just so totally and completely wrong I cannot even begin to tell you how wrong it is. I am MORE than happy to say bye bye to him."

"Watch how loud you say that" the blonde cringed while motioning around them, "As of now the walls still have ears"

"Oh I do know that trust me" Mindy's eyes got big and she sneered, "I cannot wait to get out of here I cannot even tell you"

"Will Coop ever get to come around again or is this James's way of letting that all go too?" Taylor frowned when Mindy shrugged with a heavy exhale.

"Cooper is lucky he is still alive" was all Mindy could say with a sigh, "I am going to be kinda sad though aside from that whole raping me thing I kinda like him"

"Me too…" Taylor's face fell and Mindy knew exactly what that meant and slapped a hand to her face fast.

"Oh honey you are SO barking up the wrong tree he is a god damn fruity pebble gayblade he does not-"

"He went totally straight for you"

"I know he did" she nodded with a sigh, "But I did not ask for or want that"

"So if it happened once, maybe it'll happen again?"

Knowing how all this would maybe end Mindy sighed and wrapped an arm about Taylor's rail-thin shoulders, "I will talk to him about it, alright?"

"OH MY GOD!" she giggled and gasped while hugging her as tightly as she could, "REALLY Mommy? You'd do that, really really?"

"I make no promises…" she cringed not believing herself for actually agreeing to do that but hell, she loved the ex-tart something had to be done to make her happy, "but I will try to work my Mindy magic even if I get him to take you out ONCE on a trial I will see"

"Mommy I love you SO much right now you have no idea"

"I thought you loved me forever?" Mindy frowned when immediately Taylor nodded with wide eyes.

"If I worshipped you before you have no idea what I'm going to do to you now."


	5. Chapter 5

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: No she don't. And he definitely needs someone like that because he tends to be full of shit more often than not. **jadeMK11**: Having Cooper with him will be the key to keeping him happy. As long as he's got Cooper with him, he should be kept relatively happy. **Esha Napoleon** and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you!

…

"Are you ready to help Daddy find Mommy a nice surprise Lizzie Bear?" James asked, waiting until he pulled up in front of a stop sign to glance back at his daughter. A lot of people had commented on the fact that she had his looks so today he had taken it upon himself to make her into his little twin. He had just taken her shopping and had gotten her a little baby AC/DC t-shirt and a pair of tiny little jeans and tennis shoes, all of which she was now wearing because that was his outfit to a tee. He had even gotten her a little pair of sunglasses and had put them on her. The only difference between them was that he was wearing a baseball cap backwards and she wasn't because that would hide the totally adorable pig tails he had given her. "Huh? Daddy wants to get Mommy a big present and I need you to help me. Are you up for it Lizzie Bear?"

"Me!" Elizabeth shouted, taking Lammy's face out of her mouth so she could yell that. "Me me me!"

"You want more presents Lizzie Bear?" he asked, totally not paying attention to the fact that the car behind him was honking for him to go. "You want Daddy to get you something else?"

"Yes!" Of course that was her answer to that. She was a spoiled brat already and even at this young of an age she knew that she could get whatever she wanted from her daddy without even really having to try.

"Okay Lizzie Bear, I'll get you something once we're done shopping for Mommy. How does that sound?"

Elizabeth blew a raspberry as a response and he blew one back at her before turning back around and driving again. He switched on the radio and shook his head as some rap song came blasting on. "Oh Baby Doll…" He shook his head and switched the station away from what Mindy had last put it on. "Your mommy thinks she's ghetto girl Lizzie Bear," he said in amusement. "I don't have the heart to remind her she's a white girl from Canada." He browsed through a couple of channels before going to the one he normally favored.

"This is the music Daddy likes," James explained as Hells Bells by Ac/DC began to play. "Now Mommy don't really like any of my stuff, but that's okay because me and you can listen to it when we're by ourselves."

Elizabeth just chewed on Lammy and stared at her daddy adoringly. She had no idea what he was really talking about but she knew she was included in on whatever he was saying and that was all that mattered to her.

"I'm going to turn you into a little rocker," James vowed, looking back at her yet again when he stopped at another stop sign. "Between me and Mommy, you're going to have the widest taste in music ever."

…

Unbeknownst to James, he was not only being followed, but pictures were being taken of his car. They got his license plate number and a couple shots of him before zeroing in on his daughter once again and not stopping until he sped off once more.

…

"You see the fishies Lizzie Bear?" James said as he carried her through the aquarium. He hadn't been exactly sure what he was going to get Mindy at first but then the inspiration came to him and it was so obvious he cursed himself for not just going ahead and doing it before. He knew this was something she really did want and so she was going to get it. She was his Baby Doll and that was how it all worked. "You like the fishies Lizzie?"

Elizabeth squealed and reached out for the fishes so he went closer to the glass so she could touch it. She smacked it a couple of times, frowning when she wasn't able to actually touch the fishes.

"Yeah, I know it's not fair," James sympathized. "But they gotta keep that glass here so the fishies don't fall on the floor and die. They breathe in the water, not in the air like we do."

Elizabeth couldn't give a damn about that. She smacked the glass again before shaking her head. "Lammy," she said, hugging her precious stuffed animal tightly and chewing on his ear. If she couldn't touch the fishes she would sure as hell hug her Lammy.

James chuckled and gave her a kiss on the cheek before carrying her off to the dolphin area. There weren't very many people there at all today. There were just a couple of parents with their kids and one of the ladies that worked at the aquarium itself. "Which one Lizzie Bear?" he asked as he yet again took her right up to the glass The dolphins were all swimming around and her eyes got as big as dinner plates. "You like them Lizzie Bear? You like the dolphins?"

Elizabeth cooed and put her hand on the glass. One of the dolphins swam right up to it and she immediately replaced her hand with her face, smushing it right up there and sticking her tongue out at the animal to boot.

"Aw, she's so adorable!"

James raised his eyebrows and turned around, coming face to face with the woman that worked there. "I know," he said, instinctively shifting Elizabeth away from her. He couldn't help himself. She was a stranger and he was completely overprotective.

Elizabeth didn't even acknowledge the fact that her cuteness was being admired. Usually she hammed it up for admirers because she was just like her daddy like that, but the dolphins had her complete and undivided attention. _Someone loves them just like her mommy…_

"Is this her first time seeing them?" the woman asked, looking like she wanted to just grab Elizabeth and squeeze her but not daring to because James was giving her a look that clearly said he would rip her head off if she tried to do that shit.

James nodded. "Yeah, it is."

"No!" Elizabeth shouted, smacking the glass when the dolphin swam away from her. "No!" She waited for about three seconds for the dolphin to come back before screaming and turning to James. "DADDY!"

"Ssshhh, Lizzie Bear-"

"Gimmie!" She pointed to the dolphins impatiently. "ME!"

"You want a dolphin?" James asked, eager to stop the fit because he couldn't stand the sight of tears running down her little face.

She nodded and kept pointing to the dolphins. "MINE!"

"Okay Lizzie Bear." He hugged her tight and looked at the woman. "I need to talk to someone in charge here about buying two dolphins. I need one for my wife and one for my daughter here. Oooh and a hermit crab for my daughter Amber. She likes those."

The woman looked startled by that request. "Sir I'm sorry, but this isn't a pet store. These animals are not for sale."

James chuckled at that. "Oh really?" He straightened himself up to his full height and slightly invaded her personal bubble, pleased that that little intimidation tactic worked so well. "Are you so sure about that? Because I don't think you are."

The woman gulped and took a step back. "I…I can go get my boss."

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "Go ahead and do that. I would really really appreciate it."

…

"So when is everyone moving?" Connor asked Cooper as he continued to color in one of his many coloring books. Of course his version of coloring was more along the lines of scribbling all over the place and making any picture completely unrecognizable but that was not the point. The point was, he was doing something quiet while watching an old Rugrats video played on the TV and Cooper was not about to stop him.

Cooper shrugged. "I don't know. Whenever Dad finds them a house to live in I guess." He glared at Spike, who was staring at him dumbly. "If you're even thinking about trying to eat my jeans again-"

"Hey! Don't yell at him! He didn't do nothing to you!" Connor crawled over and grabbed Spike so he could drag him over to where he and Snoopy were sitting. "Come on Spike. You don't gotta be by cranky Cooper."

Cooper rolled his eyes. "I'm not cranky. I just wish that stupid thing wasn't always trying to eat my shit."

"He just likes you Coopy!" Connor said cheerfully. "It's his way of saying he loves you." He went back to coloring for a few minutes before glancing back at Cooper, who was actually watching Rugrats for the moment. He had his laptop with him but the cartoon was taking up a lot of his attention. "Coopy?"

"What?"

"Are you glad you get to stay with me here?"

Cooper nodded. "Of course." Like he would tell Connor if he wasn't. Honestly, he did have mixed feelings about the whole situation. He was sad that the whole thing had come to this, guilty because he knew it all originally stemmed from him raping Mindy and really disappointed that he wasn't going to be living with her anymore-but really, what could he do? This was all his fault and now he had to deal with it. Besides, Connor was his brother. As big of a pain in the ass as he was, Cooper loved him to death and would do pretty much anything for him.

"How much is Daddy going to be here?"

"I don't know. I know he'll want to check up on you and stuff and make sure I'm not doing anything-"

"Like having sex with me?"

"Yeah." Cooper shook his head and gave Connor a serious look. "You know, just because Dad, Mom and the babies are moving to a bigger house doesn't mean you can pull any stunts and try to get Dad to just stay here and only visit them. Dad loves Mom and the kids even if you don't and-"

"Coopy I know all that crap already," Connor said impatiently. "Daddy's going to say that kind of stuff a million times I don't wanna hear it from you too."

"We just want to make sure you get it."

"I get it I get it." Connor threw his crayon down and pulled Snoopy into his lap. "You're going to have to learn how to cook Coopy."

"I am?"

"Yeah. Or we're going to spend lots and lots of money on fast food cuz I'm not allowed to cook. Daddy's afraid I'll burn the food."

"No, he's afraid you'll burn down the house," Cooper corrected.

Connor giggled maniacally. "I love fire," he declared. "Especially where there are boom booms with it." He placed a whole bunch of kisses all over Snoopy's face. "We should light boom booms after everyone goes bye bye. We can light them and make a great big fire." He giggled some more and began rocking from side to side. "Fire fire fire!" He giggled one more time before frowning at Cooper. "Coopy you look sad."

"I'm not," Cooper denied.

"You do too," Connor insisted. "You look really really sad." He let Snoopy go so he could get up and join Cooper on the bed. "Do you miss Jeff again?"

Cooper didn't say anything to that. He did still miss Jeff but what good was saying anything about it? It wasn't like anything was going to change. Jeff had to still hate his guts and he so totally deserved it.

Connor frowned and poked Cooper's cheek. "You should call him," he suggested. "I thought he was mean last time I saw him but maybe he'll be nice this time and you two can be together again. He can come live with us and you'll be all happy again."

Cooper snorted. "I don't think that's going to happen Connor."

"Why not? Have you even talked to him at all?"

"No…"

"Then you don't know you stupid head." Connor bounced lightly on the bed. "You can call him after Rugrats is over."

"Why after?"

"Because you're going to be busy watching it with me! Duh! Don't you know anything Coopy?"

"I guess not," Cooper said, letting out a dry chuckle.

Connor shook his head. "Well that's okay. Super Connor is here to save the day." He crossed his legs and pointed to the TV. "Now shut up and watch Coopy. This is my favorite episode ever and if you talk during it you will be convicted of being a filthy infidel. And you don't want that Coopy. That'll be bad. Real real bad."

…

James left the aquarium with Elizabeth in good spirits but those quickly came crashing down when he stepped outside and was immediately surrounded by paparazzi. "Oh fucking hell," he growled, shielding Elizabeth and glaring at the photographers angrily. He could deal with the paparazzi taking pictures of him, even if he didn't like them. He was Mr. Mindy Stratus, getting his picture taken by a bunch of assholes with no life just came with the territory. But he violently hated it when they just came out of the woodwork and ambushed him with pictures when he was with the kids, especially Chelsea and Elizabeth. The other kids were more used to it but Chelsea and Elizabeth were the babies. He was even more protective of them than his other kids and he was already five seconds away from hitting someone because these idiots just would not stop.

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she tried to hide her face against James's neck. Before she could actually do that though, a really bright flash went off right in her eyes and she screamed in fright. The moment she wailed James snapped and he started swinging, nailing three photographers before the rest all ran off, not about to stick around to get the shit kicked out of them by an angry giant. "Mother fucking cock sucking whores!" James snarled, kicking one of the photographers while he was down. He shook his head and spat angrily before forcing himself to try to calm down so he could get Elizabeth to calm down as well. "Ssshhh honey ssshhh," he cooed, bouncing her anxiously as she continued to cry. "Ssshh don't cry. Please don't cry honey. Daddy's here and the stupid camera people are gone. I won't let them bother you again, okay? Okay Lizzie Bear? Ssshhh…."

…

From a distance more pictures of Elizabeth were being taken, each of them completely zoomed right into her face. The pictures captured her red, tear stained face perfectly and the person taking them stopped for a moment and watched as James continued to soothe the little girl, eventually getting her to stop crying. They watched as James used the little stuffed lamb to make her smile again and then they took one last picture of her before James got her into the car and took off once more.

…

Cooper sighed as he stared at his phone, trying his best to build up his courage to dial Jeff's number. Connor was entertaining himself with trying to build parachutes for him, Spike and Snoopy so Cooper had stepped out of the room so he could try to do this with a tad bit more privacy. He had all sorts of knots in his stomach and nothing he was doing was easing them one little bit. He hadn't talked to Jeff in ages and he wasn't even sure if this was a good idea. What if Jeff just flat out refused to talk to him? He wasn't sure if he could handle that. He glanced back towards the door, thinking about just forgetting this and going back in because that was how strong the fear of rejection was. But in the end, he went ahead and dialed the number. Connor was right; he was sad and he did miss Jeff. Even if he was rejected he had to at least try to get him to talk to him.

Jeff's phone rang several times and it was just about to go to his voicemail when it was finally answered it. "Hello?" Jeff said groggily.

Cooper swallowed the lump that rose up in his throat and leaned back against the wall for support. "Hey," he said hesitantly.

There was a few seconds of silence. "Cooper?" Jeff didn't sound totally happy but he didn't' sound completely pissed off. Cooper wanted to take that as a good sign.

"Yeah," Cooper confirmed. "It's me."

"Why…why are you calling?"

"I wanted to apologize…again. And see how you were." Cooper let out a nervous laugh. "So um…how are you?"

"I've been better," Jeff said slowly, obviously just as lost in this conversation as Cooper was.

"What's the matter?"

"…I don't want to talk about it." What Cooper didn't know was that Jeff had been doing his very best to move on from him, hooking up with men and women right and left in order to try to get into some kind of sense of moving on. Only problem was, he just kept failing over and over again. None of it felt right at all but he wasn't going to admit to that. Not right now.

"Oh." Cooper shifted around from foot to foot. Yeah, this was tremendously awkward.

"How…how are you?"

Cooper perked up, pleasantly surprised by the question. "I'm okay," he replied.

"What about Min?"

"She's alright…she'd like to see you." _I want to see you._

"I'd like to see her too," Jeff said. "That would be um…cool."

A really awkward silence reigned supreme. "I should um…I gotta go," Jeff said, unable to take it.

"Okay," Cooper agreed. "Bye."

"Bye."

They hung up and Cooper hit the back of his head against the wall. That hadn't exactly gone the way he had hoped it would-but then again, it did go way better than the worst case scenario. That as something at least. _Baby steps. It's all about the baby steps._


	6. Chapter 6

**Cathy** and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **jakeMK11**: The sicko photographer's current antics wouldn't go over well at all with James, and the ones he's going to be up to real soon will go over even less well. **Nooks**: Connor really don't care about Mark that much so he really hasn't thought to say anything like that. And he got James in trouble with Natalya over the hitting incident so it's pretty much over and done with with him.

…

"_You lied to me dad." _

"_I didn't lie." _

"_Yes you did. You said you were fine. You're not fine! That was a lie!"_

"_I hoped. I didn't lie it's not the same thing."_

"_It's alright to be angry."_

_Good! Is this why you brought me here this summer?" Miley Cyrus's character Ronnie Miller began to cry, "Is it? So you wouldn't have to be alone while-" her character cried some more, "Why didn't you tell us?"_

"_It's not what I wanted this time to be about."_

"_Well it is. It is now, daddy..." _

""_It's not. This is just another... another part of our terrific summer. Not one of the better parts I admit." _

"_I love you."_

"_Sweetie, I love you too." _

_Miley laid down with him in his hospital bed, crying, "I love you, daddy."_

Amber's head was completely buried in Mindy's neck practically screaming she was crying so hard as the two lay in matching white nightgowns on Amber's queen-sized bed watching her favorite movie of all time, The Last Song.

"Sssssshh Ambie…" kissing her oldest child's blonde head Mindy cooed while sniffling and cuddling her closer. No matter how many times Amber had seen this movie she always had the same reaction, and Mindy would have to calm her down for twenty hours afterwards because she'd be sputtering.

Gripping her mother's silken nightgown which matched hers as they watched Miley's character discover her father dead in a wicker chair on their porch by the beach Amber completely lost it and coughed into her mother's collarbone she was crying so hard. She knew her mother was pregnant but Mindy just kept going backwards on the scale and got skinnier. Every time her face buried into her mother's breastplate it hit bone, and that made her squeeze even tighter and clench her teeth in dismay.

"Ambie…" welling up herself at the ending credits song by Miley herself titled, 'When I Look at You' Mindy trembled violently for a moment before squeezing and tears away and rubbing Amber's back, "Ambie, Ambieloo…Amber Rose…"

"I love you Mommy" coughing she lifted the large clouded blue eyes to make out a blurred outline of her mother and cry so hard Mindy had to sit up and pull the lanky child into her lap under the covers, "I love you I love you!"

"I love you more, I bore you" Mindy nodded with a bit of a tearful chuckle, and Amber sniffled and coughed before letting Mindy's teensy hands comb through her hair, "Do you wanna go for a walk…" her plumped lips pouted and she tangled a hand in her daughter's long wavy blonde locks, "Like we always used to as biffers?"

The large blue eyes panned to the windows to the outside and Amber frowned; it was three in the morning and they were in the middle of the god damn desert, "We can't…" her lips quivered and she shook her head, "there's no beach."

"Oh booboo…" Mindy shook her head and kissed the side of Amber's face, "we do not need a beach, we can just-"

"It's not the same"

"I know…" her face fell significantly and Amber didn't need to look to feel the pain in her mother's signature eyes, "but we live here"

"I hate it here…" sniffling she shook her head and coughed, "we all do."

"James lives here, Amber Rose"

"I don't care" she scoffed, "I miss the beach"

"Me too…" a deep breath, "but James won't leave Connor behind just to go away with us, he cannot kill anyone out in Malibu-"

"Sure he can…"

Mindy's lack-of answer let her know she won that. The silence lingered a moment until Amber lifted her eyes and swallowed hard at Mindy.

"Miley Cyrus is lucky…"

Mindy cocked her head and began to braid Amber's thick head of blonde hair, "Why? What does Miley have that you do not?"

"A daddy"

Mindy didn't even go there by mentioning James so she just remained mum.

"I know her daddy dies in the movie, but he's not her real daddy so its okay…" she choked and tears dripped onto Mindy's arms, making her feel so guilty she started silently crying as well, "she gets to leave off the set and be somebody's princess"

Lips pressed hard to the side of Amber's head, "I'm sorry…" her throat hurt and she coughed before sobbing loudly, "I'm sorry for everything…!"

"Why?" Amber's lips were getting so dry they chapped and she shook her head at Mindy, "You didn't do anything-"

"No, Ambie" sniffling and holding a hand over her mouth she coughed and nodded with a sniffle, "I did…"

Amber's hand pet her mother's face and she shook her head drearily, "Kane wasn't your fault"

"Yes he was" her erratic breathing actually frightened her daughter, "Yes…he…was…!"

"He didn't love us"

"He didn't love anything" Mindy's jaw dropped so she could stare into Amber's blue comforter and silently cry, "so he lied to me and said he did…and I didn't even want to be with him" her head shook frantically like she was being strangled, "I just wanted to fucking die so bad I did not care who I was with, I could not do any better anyway I deserved no better"

"Mommy-"

"No…" swallowing hard she shook her head, "I was so fucking weak…" gradually she forced her eyes on her daughter's, "I'm not a strong person Amber-"

"YES you are"

"NO…" immediately she leveled the tone and caught her breath, "honey…I am not. I hate myself so fucking much I married a man I HATED hoping maybe he could kill me one day and put me out of my misery but no…" her head cocked in disbelief, "he kept me ALIVE…because if he let me get what I wanted I would have been dead…and we had all of you…and all we did was fight because I hated him…I know you loved him"

"You don't know that…" Amber's eyes narrowed and she shook her head, "I loved him because I didn't know any better…the twins, Tryggy, and Chels didn't give a good damn when I broke the news"

"No" Mindy shook her head and sniffled before running her fingers through her thick mess of hair, "but I'm your mother and its my job to make sure you had a father"

Amber didn't answer, and she didn't need her to.

"I see the way you look at James and his kids…I see the way you look at everyone" she choked, "at school…and at dance recitals when all the daddies are there and for you it is only me…"

"I only want you"

"You NEEDED a father and I FAILED you, Amber Rose!" Mindy's eyes narrowed and she was whimpering just looking at her own kid, "Look at what I did to you…" she sniffled and squeezed a tear out, "you're a BABY and you act like you're thirty-three!"

"I have to PROTECT you"

"Look…" licking her lips she tangled a hand in her hair and shook her head, "I know you hate James, alright? I failed you all THERE too, I am sorry!"

"WHY are you sorry?" Amber demanded when Mindy clammed up and shrank back, "I knew James was too nice in the beginning, I KNEW it okay? It's not your job to get me a dad-"

"You need one more than you know"

"Why?" she shrugged and hugged her mother's torso tight, "I have you"

"Trust me…" a croak as she just stared at the mattress, "from someone who did not have a real father…you need one"

"I do NOT!" Amber shook her head and scowled, "You didn't have a MOMMY"

"No I did not…" she shook her head, "I had no one…but regardless you are not to turn out the way I did"

"Why?"

Mindy didn't answer.

"You're a beautiful person"

Mindy snorted at that, "Which personality are we talkin' about here?"

"All of you…" she stared at her in pure adulation, "you're my Mommy."

"And I thought maybe I could have given you a real father"

"He loves his own kids" Amber dismissed immediately while tracing the tops of Mindy's fingers with hers, "and more power to them…he's their father"

"He can be yours too if you let him"

"No" she shook her head with a scowl, "it's not the same. It'll never be the same…the second Connor or Lizzie gets a hangnail I'm under the bus, Mommy; I know that…we all know that"

"And that's not his fault" she shook her head and placed a hand over her breastplate, "it's mine…for thinking I could-"

"I don't want to hear it" Amber wrinkled her nose, "Just because I can never have a daddy doesn't mean that it's your fault"

"But Ambie…" gently she touched her face and tried to nod, "You can"

"Chelsea's an idiot" Amber shook her head and shrugged, "She doesn't know how James really feels about her. He's not what she thinks he is because Elizabeth is his only little girl and will always matter the most…I'm not stupid Mommy"

"I brought him to us…it was me"

"And then I could watch Kane kill you too…" her eyes widened, "that would have been awesome"

"I brought everything on us" she took a deep breath and rubbed Amber's back, "I am an example of everything you should not be when you grow up"

"Mommy, you're SICK"

"I RUINED YOUR CHILDHOOD!" Mindy screamed so loud banging could be heard around the house and she cried into her hands, "We're only here because I'm FUCKING selfish and wanted someone else's fucking boyfriend! I thought he was something he wasn't and I was WRONG Amber!" her hands slapped her own breastplate repeatedly, "I OWN UP TO IT I WAS WRONG! I ASKED for a divorce he said NO! I TOLD HIM I wanted a divorce he said NO! I tried to blow my BRAINS out-"

"I said no" Amber clasped her mother's hand and bit her lip hard. "Do you still love him the way you used to?"

Mindy froze uncomfortably before shaking her head and trembling, "…I don't know. How can I like anyone when I hate myself?"

"I like you…"

"You will hate me when you are seventeen and see just what I am really about"

"My mother is SICK…" she recited coldly, "and no one cared enough to help her. Kane only liked Mindy…James only likes Miranda…and you have to look him in the eye knowing he had to bring his ex-boyfriend of forty years back to line him up for when you didn't chase the part of you he didn't like away"

Mindy's face fell and she shook her head in denial.

"You don't look at him the way you used to…" Amber sniffled and shook her head while beginning to switch roles and baby her mother now, "don't think I didn't notice"

"And how can I…?" she trailed off while staring into space, "I'm only with him when I'm fucking him, which to you seems like all the time-"

"Not really" she shook her head with pouted lips, "Last I remember it was right after you got pregnant"

"We never hang out, we never talk…I feel like a circus monkey all I do is perform and go back to cooking and following you guys around…I am not allowed to have a career so I do not play piano or sing anymore…I don't paint…I don't ride Cotton or Spade…I feel like I'm being patronized all the time just because Connor does not like me…like James is" she waved a hand around, "catering to me by moving, he is conveniencing me and that is not the case…I only wanted him to have what he wanted and as always he wants both…or at least he thinks he does. I don't wanna move to another spot in…" she scowled, "Vegas…I wanna go HOME. I want to see the ocean…walk on the sand…" her hands went to her temples for a moment that frightened Amber and she shivered violently with a beet-red face, "I do not know what I want anymore…I used to look to him to make it better but now I see nothing…and then he touches me and I love him again…only now I forget why I do. If I do…I don't know…I'm scared."


	7. Chapter 7

**Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **cathy**: It was. And unfortunately, this isn't as sad as its going to get later on. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: It's definitely not the easiest of situations for them to be in. Compared to how they were before this is a pretty serious funk and it's taking its toll on the both of them. **jadeMK11**: It should but she hates herself (always has) so she's a horrible critic on herself.

…

_"We never hang out, we never talk…I feel like a circus monkey all I do is perform and go back to cooking and following you guys around…I am not allowed to have a career so I do not play piano or sing anymore…I don't paint…I don't ride Cotton or Spade…I feel like I'm being patronized all the time just because Connor does not like me…_"

James furiously rubbed at his eyes with one hand as he used the other to keep a hold of the pan that he was attempting to cook breakfast in. He had heard all of it. Every fucking little thing Mindy and Amber had said was just fucking in his head and he could not get it out. Three in the fucking morning and he had heard them plain as day. There was no escaping it. It just kept haunting him and he had spent the night in his office, not sleeping a wink. He had been hiding like a complete coward because he hadn't known what else to do. Obviously he had already made things bad enough; who the fuck knew would happen if he fucked up again, like he always fucking seemed to?

"_-like James is catering to me by moving, he is conveniencing me and that is not the case…I only wanted him to have what he wanted and as always he wants both…or at least he thinks he does. I don't wanna move to another spot in…Vegas…I wanna go HOME. I want to see the ocean…walk on the sand…I do not know what I want anymore…I used to look to him to make it better but now I see nothing…and then he touches me and I love him again…only now I forget why I do. If I do…I don't know…I'm scared."_

Smoke erupted in front of him and he coughed violently as he inhaled a giant lungful of it. He moved the pan off the stove and set it in the sink, running water over it until the smoke was suffocated. He was trying so hard to just focus on this meaningless task and not think about how he was dying on the inside but it was failing. It was all just fucking failing. Another failure in the spectacular life of James Paul Lawson.

He stared blankly at the sink for the longest time, trying to choke down the eruption building inside of him but just really managing to hyperventilate in the process. Finally he forced his feet to move and he stumbled into the bathroom, barely able to get the door closed and locked behind him before he lost it. He put his hand over his mouth and bit down on it so any kind of sob that came out of him was muffled. Not that it would matter if anyone overheard him anyway. Who was going to come in here to comfort him? He failed as a husband, he failed as a father…he felt like he tried so hard but he always managed to just fucking fail. What the hell had he been thinking? How could he have thought he was good for anyone, much less someone like his Baby Doll and her children? Mindy thought she failed them by not giving them a father…but it was him that had failed. He had failed and now he couldn't hate himself more if he tried.

He tore his hand away from his mouth as he began to bang the back of his head against the door as hard as he possibly could. He had actually torn a nice big chunk of skin off his hand in the process of doing that but he didn't care. He just kept banging his head harder and harder until the pain became tremendous and then he did it some more just for good measure. Once he was done he went over to the mirror, hating his own reflection but unable to tear his eyes away from it.

_I don't know who you were trying to fool._ Oh fuck. It was Caroline's fucking voice again. She always just knew when to pop up in his brain and make him feel even worse. _Did you ever really think you were going to get the big happy family ending you were searching for? You're an idiot. All you do is screw up and make people miserable. You made me hate your existence, Annabelle always felt guilty about the relationship YOU were more pushy to have, you never were enough for Mark, you fucked up Cooper and Connor and now you've fucked up the lives of your precious "Baby Doll" and her little fucking brats. You're poison James. You're a giant idiot that poisons the lives of everyone that comes near you. You should have just done the world a favor and died in my womb._

"Shut up," he begged, putting his hands over his ears to try to block her out. It did absolutely no good of course. Her voice was in his head he couldn't block her out no matter how hard he tried. "Shut up shut up shut up!"

_Or maybe you should have just let me kill you with that wire hanger. That would have saved a lot of people a lot of time and trouble. So many things would have been better-_"

"Shut up!" James balled up his fist and punched the mirror, letting out a scream when he felt the glass break underneath his hand. It was cutting him up, making him bleed and embedding itself into his hand but he didn't care. He just kept hitting the glass over and over again, still screaming and completely unaware that he was attracting an audience right outside the door.

…

"What is he doing in there?" Thorn asked as she, Oxa, Scarlett and Tryg all listened in to the breakdown James was having in the bathroom. "Do you think he's slicing himself up like Mommy does?"

Scarlett shook her head. "If he is I hope he don't get his face. That's what makes his money right there."

Tryg frowned. "I thought he got money from that thing he owns and don't like?"

Scarlett rolled her eyes. I KNOW that Tryggy. I-" She jumped when she heard a loud crash come from inside the bathroom. "Uh oh…."

"What's going on?" Taylor asked, coming up to them with Elizabeth in her arms and Chelsea by her side. "What are you guys doing?"

"Daddy might need Mommy's medicine," Thorn said wisely, cringing when they heard some kind of horribly loud pounding up against the walls. "He's going crazy in there."

"Yeah," Tryg agreed. "He was yelling at someone just a few seconds ago but nobody else is in there but him." He looked at his twin sisters for confirmation. "Right?"

Thorn and Scarlett both nodded. Nobody was in there with him as far as they knew.

"Oh boy.." Taylor didn't even know how to react. She just stared at the door wide eyed, unsure about what to do or say next. She didn't feel comfortable around Mr. Lawson when he was in a good mood and she sure as hell wasn't going to feel comfortable around him now that he was obviously going nuts in a room just a few feet away from her.

Chelsea's eyes widened when she heard James say something muffled to himself. "Daddy!" She trotted right up to the door, expecting James to come right out at that second. When he didn't do that, she frowned and reached up for the doorknob. "Daddy!" She tried to twist it and found it locked, which did not go over well with her at all. "Daddy!"

"Oh Chelsea no," Taylor said as the three year old kicked the door. "Now is not a good time-"

"Daddy!" Chelsea yelled again. She shook her head as Taylor tried to pull her away. "NO! Daddy!"

"Should we get Mommy?" Thorn asked as she watched Chelsea ready herself to throw a full on fit. "Maybe she needs to give him some of his pills."

"Uh…" Taylor looked around nervously and hugged Elizabeth tightly against her chest. The baby was starting to fuss, wanting Daddy to come out of there as well. "Ummm…Cooper! Cooper!" She wasn't sure if Cooper could do anything to help or even if this was a good idea because of the state of his and Mr. Lawson's relationship but she couldn't help herself. Cooper had been the main thing on her mind lately so that was the name that immediately came out of her mouth. "Coop-"

"What?" he groaned loudly as he joined the party outside the bathroom door. He had been up until five in the morning watching the Transformers movies (Connor's choice, not his) and he was nowhere near awake yet. The only reason he had even been awake enough to hear his own name being yelled was because he had had quite a dream about Jeff and had been forced to take care of the problem so maybe he could get some more sleep. Of course that was going straight to hell now and he was finding himself more than a little grumpy.

"Your dad-" Taylor winced as they heard a loud bang come from the bathroom. "-something is going on with him."

"Oh fuck," Cooper groaned as his eyes opened more and he stared at the door. He hadn't heard the entire conversation between Amber and Mindy but he had heard enough to know that it was what was bothering James (he had to assume that's what he overheard…nothing else made sense). "Fuck me fuck me fuck me with a god damn spatula…"

"EWWW!" Scarlett said loudly. "That is NOT what that's for Cooper!"

"Well I KNOW that!" Cooper said as Taylor put her hand over her mouth and snorted. "I didn't mean-"

"DADD!" Chelsea yelled impatiently as she threw herself against the door. "DADDY DADDY DADDY!"

The bathroom door finally opened and James not only scooped Chelsea up into his arms, but he got Thorn, Scarlett and Tryg as well. Taylor was completely startled by his appearance and Cooper could only cringe. His entire body was shaking, his eyes were all red and puffy and it looked like he was going to lose it yet again at any second. Taylor became worried about him holding the kids in that condition but all he did was just repeatedly kiss them and cling to them for dear life.

"Why did you beat up the bathroom Daddy?" Thorn asked as she looked over his shoulder and peered into the room. "And who were you talking to? Are you getting sick like Mommy? Because we can get you medicine for it."

James shook his head and kept up with the shower of kisses. He couldn't even really begin to speak. All he could do was try to convey how much he loved the four children in his arms without any words. Of course, it probably was too late. If he had failed Amber then he must have already failed them too. The thought made him shrivel up inside and he closed his eyes, trying to focus on not thinking about it. Being a dad used to be something he figured he was at least okay at but his confidence in that pretty much had gone straight to the gutter and there was a good chance it wasn't actually going to come back out. He loved these kids so much but fuck how they must hate him. Well Chelsea didn't…then again, she didn't realize how fucked up he was and how much he sucked.

Cooper sighed and looked between James's hastily bandaged hand and the broken glass that was all over the bathroom floor. "Jesus Christ Dad…" He shook his head and looked at James, who couldn't even fully glare at Cooper like he had been since he had come home again. He was too fucked up on hating himself to direct it at Cooper. "Did that make you feel better at all?"

James shook his head.

"You wanna go hunting?" Tryg asked. "You like hunting…"

"Hunting?" Taylor frowned, completely lost at what they were now talking about.

James didn't give any kind of reaction. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to hunt-no, scratch that, he NEEDED to do it. The blood thirsty monster that lived inside of him was screaming to be fed so that maybe the storm that was inside of him could be settled. Killing was his coping mechanism and he needed that right now. He needed it so bad that it was making him tremble even more but he couldn't just go off and do it. Not right now. If he had already screwed up he didn't need to make it worse by going off to hunting and making them feel that that was more important than them. That wasn't the case at all. Hunting was something he had to do but he lived for them. He fucking lived for all of them how could he dare make them feel less important than they were?

"Dad…" Cooper just could not stop cringing at the look on James's face. "You really should-"

"Daddy I want ice cream," Scarlett said, blatantly interrupting Cooper and not giving a shit about it. "Can you get us ice cream before you go?"

James automatically nodded. This is what he wanted. He wanted a chance to appease them and prove that maybe he could do something right. Maybe it was futile at this point but it had to be better than the utter misery and failure feeling he was rocking at this point. "Yeah, of course." He kissed them all again and went over and kissed Elizabeth as well because she was feeling left out. "I love you."

"Even though Connor says you're not our real daddy?" Tryg said, making James cringe at the question.

"Forget what Connor said. I love you and you ARE my babies. All of you…" His voice trailed off and he hugged them even tighter than he already was.

Taylor shook her head and adjusted the fussy Elizabeth in her arms. "What the hell is going on?" she asked Cooper in a hushed voice. "Why is he acting like that? And shouldn't we get Mom and Amber-"

Cooper quickly shook his head. "I'll explain on the way. Just don't mention those two so he hears you…not until he's out of this mood." Just a few months ago he would have been ecstatic at this turn of events. But now even though he still loved her, he was slowly starting to accept the fact that she and him were never going to be. He had ruined things with the rape and James was never going to let her go…plus now Cooper just felt bad for the guy. One conversation had taken the seemingly strong, tough James and had reduced him into a pitiful mess. And despite the bad blood between them, Cooper did still know his dad really really well and he knew that the incident in the bathroom was nothing.

Nobody had seen anything yet.

…

The entire time they were out getting ice cream James put on the bravest face possible and tried to act like nothing was wrong. He didn't feel like he was doing that great of a job at it and in all actuality he probably wasn't. But he was trying. Once again he was trying and he not only bought the kids the biggest things of ice cream they could eat, but he took them to the toy store afterwards, buying Tryg a little car he could drive around in, Thorn and Scarlett a giant castle playhouse and Chelsea a giant stuffed teddy bear and Elizabeth a toy sword that she immediately started whacking around like there was no tomorrow. On the way home he picked up the hermit crab he had talked the aquarium people into selling him for Amber and once back at the house, he left it where he knew she would find it. As Taylor helped the other kids with all their stuff and Cooper hid out in the car so he could go along with James on his hunt, James thought about going to talk to Mindy. He wanted to see her so bad and hold her close but he ultimately decided to put it off and go hunting first. It wasn't something he wanted to do by any means but it was the only choice he could make considering the fact that he had no idea what to do or say once he did see her. Did he pretend like he hadn't heard what she and Amber had said? Or did he directly address the matter? He didn't know and he couldn't just come up with the answer off the top of his head. He needed to have a clearer mind before he started trying to think about it again and that meant going hunting. Maybe he could get a fucking answer if he did that.

…

Cooper stayed crouched down on the floor of the car as James drove off, not daring to reveal that he was still there until he absolutely had to. He knew that this was a horribly stupid plan, given that James still hadn't remotely forgiven him for raping Mindy. But letting James go off hunting alone while so obviously upset was a pretty stupid one to go with as well. An upset killer was a sloppy killer-Cooper knew that one for himself, so he figured he would take one for the team and try to keep James from making some really stupid mistake that could end up coming back and biting him in the ass later. It wasn't like he didn't owe him big time…

The car suddenly came to a stop and Cooper grunted as James reached back and smacked his leg. "What the hell are you doing back there?" he asked grumpily. "Why aren't you home watching Connor?"

"Connor was up until five in the morning," Cooper replied, getting himself up into the backseat and buckling up. He wasn't about to sit up front with James. That was too risky for his taste. "He won't wake up for another few hours. Besides, he's not the only one that could use a babysitter right now."

James gave Cooper an extremely irritated look. He had been looking to be alone right now and this was going completely against what he had been going for. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You need someone-"

"Not you," James said nastily. "I don't need you."

Cooper shook his head, ignoring the little sting he got from those words. "Who else do you got?" He didn't ask that question in a nasty way. That would have just landed him in more hot water and that was not where he needed to be. "I know a lot of what Mom said so I know why you're upset. Amber wouldn't help you if you were on fire so forget about this instance. The other kids are too young, Connor wouldn't care and even if he did he's no help with this shit. Taylor is too terrified of you to even make eye contact, Julie's gone…yeah, I'm what you've got."

James tightened his grip on the steering wheel and stepped on the gas pedal angrily. Cooper did have a point but he wasn't going to admit it. They sat there in an awkward silence, James driving them to a nastier part of the city while Cooper sat in the back, playing with his hands and trying to figure out if he should keep his silence or say something. James sure as hell wasn't planning on saying anything…or so he thought…

"Was I a bad dad?" James hadn't intended on that coming out. He hadn't intended on talking to Cooper at all. He had been planning on giving him the cold shoulder and even contemplated finishing him off just for the hell of it when his insecurities got the best of him and he started talking without meaning to. "I mean, before I tried to kill you…was I a bad dad?"

"What?" Cooper was thrown off by that question. "No, you were a good dad. I mean you infuriated me with all that Mark bullshit but you were still a good dad."

That didn't exactly reassure James. "Did I…did I treat Connor differently and make you feel bad? Like I didn't love you the same?"

Cooper sighed and shook his head. He could have been mean and said yes but he decided to try to make amends and be the bigger man by being honest. "No Dad, you didn't. Any different treatment Connor got instead of me was because of the way he is, not because you loved us any different." He leaned forward a bit to try to get closer to James. "Dad…I know you're hurting-"

"No. You don't know shit about how I feel," James declared vehemently. "You fucking don't. You think you loved her? It's fucking nothing compared to the way I feel. And hearing that…hearing that…" It took him a few minutes to compose himself. "She should have just taken a knife and stabbed me in the chest. I would have felt a lot better if she had."

Cooper winced. "Dad-"

"Like what the hell am I supposed to do now?" James pulled the car over into a parking lot of a closed grocery store and killed the engine. He couldn't drive anymore. He was too upset to pay attention to the road. "Can someone fucking tell me that? I don't even know where to start. Do I pretend to not have heard and get a new house here and act like nothing is wrong? If I do that she's not going to be happy…she wants to go to California." He laughed bitterly. "But if I say "hey, we're going to California to live" you know what she's going to think? That I'm convienencing her again. It'll have nothing to do with me wanting her to actually be happy. I'll just be catering to her and not having what I want." He shook his head and hit the steering wheel in frustration. "And if we got to California, what's going to happen with Connor? Do I get him a house out there too so you and he can live there? Do I leave him here to live with you? I can't just fucking abandon him. He's my son…I'm a bad enough father as is, I can't-"

"Dad stop," Cooper pleaded. "You're not-"

"I love her so fucking much." James wasn't listening to Cooper at all. He was just going on and on, unable to stop now. "I need her every single moment of the day…I can't live without her. She won't ever believe me when I tell her that. She just throws Belle and Mark back in my face and says I'll find someone new within a week…" His voice trailed off and he rested his forehead against the steering wheel, his breathing ragged and some tears escaping his eyes. "I HATE it when she says that…it fucking hurts…" He sighed and sniffled loudly. "I can't lose her. I won't divorce her…the moment she would be gone that would be it. I would be done."

Cooper did not like the implications of that statement at all but he didn't get a chance to say anything about it. James was out of the car and taking off before he could do so. "Shit!" He got out of the car and began chasing after his dad, who was not stopping for anything. "Dad! DAD!"

James either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him. He just kept running, disappearing into one of the many alleys and making Cooper curse under his breath as he started trying to find him. This was so beyond not good that it wasn't funny. "DAD!" He kept moving, at first coming up empty handed and just cringing at the thought of what James could be doing. Then he heard some commotion and James's voice shouting something about a fag…that definitely wasn't good.

"What is he doing?" Cooper asked himself, just shaking his head in worry as he followed the noise. "What did he-oh no…" He stumbled upon the scene to find James surrounded by a four large biker dudes and he was letting them literally beat the ever holy fuck out of him. Cooper was guessing that James had thrown some homophobic slurs to pick the fight…the question was why was he letting them win? This was a hunt…well, it was SUPPOSED to be anyway. Obviously shit was just getting way WAY out of control.

"Oh fuck," he said when one of the bikers grabbed a tire iron and started nailing James right in the ribs with them. "Get OFF of him!" He jumped into the fray, grabbing the guy that was holding James and thrashing him to the ground. One of the other bikers nailed him right in the eye, sending him stumbling back against the wall of the nearest building. The guy then punched him in the ribs and then tried to grab his throat but Cooper kneed him in the groin and head butted him in the face before he could do that. The guy doubled over and Cooper took out his knife, stabbing the guy in the back of the neck and making the blade of the knife poke out through his throat. He yanked the knife out and drove it into the chest of the first biker he had gone after, stabbing his heart and killing him pretty much instantly.

"Dad…" He looked to James and saw that he was standing tall over the other two now dead bikers. He was clutching his ribs while blood poured out of his mouth and the six inch gash that was right above his ear. "Jesus Christ. You need a hospital."

"No," James denied. "I'm fine." He spit out a nice big thing of blood. "I just don't know what to do still…"

Cooper sighed. "Maybe…maybe you and her should go away together for awhile. Leave me and Taylor in charge…or just Taylor." He got a nasty look for implying he could be in charge at any point. "You and Mom need it…time with just yourselves….work shit out and remember why you fell in love…make her fall back in love if needed." He shrugged. He could tell James was mulling that over and hopefully that meant maybe he would do it. "Just a suggestion. But you still really really need a hospital. You need stitches-"

"I'll superglue it shut."

"You'll-oh fucking hell. You just live to be difficult don't you?"

James only shrugged. "I'm good at it…one of the only things I manage to do right."

Cooper groaned at that. _Oh Jesus fucking Christ…this is going to be a long day._


	8. Chapter 8

**Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: For the moment it appears they're on civil terms at least. Whether they reach anything better remains to be seen. **Nooks**: Connor's honestly got enough toys to open a toy shop (of course, he's broke a lot of them in some way but that's not the point). He's not lacking in the toy department. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: He's being more mature than usual about the subject of James and Mindy. It's a nice change of pace compared to the attitude he used to have.

…

"Oh my god, are you serious?" Mindy shook her head with pouted lips in her kitchen with Elizabeth in one arm and Amber right by her side. Taylor was engaging Chelsea in a jigsaw puzzle while the twins were kneading dough for the banana bread they were making with Mindy. Tryg had a pink flyswatter handy, giving Oxa's head the occasional thwack when she stuck her nose in the dough.

"Mommy, he got the fucking hell beat out of him because he got in a fight with you-" Cooper didn't realize Mindy had the phone on speaker and Taylor stepped up to play the role of Amber.

"Listen Mommy…" Taylor put the house line on mute before leaving Chelsea for a moment and taking Elizabeth from Mindy, shifting her weight to the right and blowing air past her lips. Before speaking again she ran a hand through her straight platinum blonde hair and dropped her eyes to gather herself, "It's not any of my business"

"Yes it is, talk" Mindy could hear Cooper calling her since she wasn't responding but didn't care.

"Okay…" nodding along with curled lips Taylor continued, "but I mean…" she exhaled in exasperation, not exactly knowing how to get this across, "this all just seems like he's trying to make you feel guilty and sap you into embracing him with open arms for this little love sacrifice."

"I know and it pisses me off" her medium-toned eyebrows rose, "He does this type of shit all the time between making himself bleed or sulking or getting all fucking quiet I know…and I can't fucking take the emotional bullshit anymore. He is a god damn man what the fuck does he think he is getting from me? I am not supposed to monitor HIM, he should be monitoring ME as the fucking woman, but NO! I have to be the man now because fucking Mark is gone and he has no one to balance him out and tell him to stop being a bitch."

"I don't like his coping mechanisms…" Taylor added weakly before shrugging, "I mean, I don't know him too well but he just seems so desperate"

"Oh I know" Mindy's eyebrows rose and she rolled her eyes before taking the phone off speaker, "What would you like me to do, Bub?"

"Well…" he sighed, "I don't know, I mean…what's going on with you guys is your business but I think you really should come down and see him…bring the baby if you think that'll help him"

"Yeah, yeah I'll bring her" she nodded before curling her lips in and cringing, "Is he okay?"

"No" Cooper shook his head before sighing, "I mean…" he knew he left her feeling uneasy, "he'll LIVE…but I really think you should come just to see him so he calms down"

"No no, of course" immediately she snagged Elizabeth and reached for the keys to her white Porsche Carerra GT, "Tell Jamie I am coming, alright? Tell him to hang in there I am coming with the baby"

"Just like that?" Taylor raised an eyebrow from leaning her back against one of the counters and Mindy nodded.

"I wanna make sure he is alright, babe he is in the hospital I am scared" kissing Elizabeth and Taylor on the forehead quickly she opened the door and left.

…

"Come on, Lizzie Bear…" kissing the top of Elizabeth's head after signing in with an entourage of bodyguards to protect her from the press, Mindy quickly headed towards James's room and didn't even take into account of the hospital atmosphere around her. Yes, she and James were having issues but this was different he was hurt. She didn't care how it happened her husband was still hurting and she loved him too deeply to just let him be alone.

"Da da da da!" Elizabeth squealed while biting down on Lammy when Mindy nodded with a smile and kissed her temple.

"YES, my darling baby, we are going to see DADDY!"

Elizabeth bit down on Lammy and leaned up to kiss Mindy, so happily she returned it and swallowed hard to see James sitting on a medical table since he didn't need to stay overnight and he lit up the moment she walked in the room.

"Jamie!"

"Baby Doll…" hesitant to reach out and grab her, she frowned at his physical state and Cooper respectfully left the room to leave the two alone.

"Oh Jamie!"

"Da da da!" Elizabeth cheered so Mindy handed James his baby first and foremost before having Mindy spring into his lap and kiss him so hard she started crying and shook her head.

"My god Jamie what HAPPENED, darling tell me tell me TELL me, Jamie I cannot help you if you do not tell me"

Shaking his head quickly he tried to get her off topic, "It's not important"

"Fuck you, yes it is!" she yelled at his entire body battered and covered in bandages, "What HAPPENED to you, darling?"

"Hunting accident" that was incredibly vague so she took it with a grain of salt and shook her head disbelievingly.

"Hunting accident…?"

"Yeah" he nodded at her stiffly, "Why? That's what it was"

"So…" she snorted sarcastically, "what, were you huntin' for a gang a' bikers or somethin'?"

He froze uncomfortably before nodding, though she snorted and waved him off.

"Bullshit, James"

"No, I mean it…" he nodded before kissing Elizabeth and gazing at her longingly, "I bit off more than I could chew"

"Since when, James?" she shook her head and shrugged, "All my life I have never seen anyone beat you up, what HAPPENED?"

"I let them do it" he shrugged even though he knew he bit the bullet there.

"Excuse me?"

"I love you" he tried giving her that lovesick glaze and she just wasn't biting.

"Who the fuck beats YOU up, James? NOBODY beats you up why the FUCK would you let someone hurt you like that? What is WRONG with your life, James? Is it me?"

"No!" he shouted with a frantic shake of the head and kissed her, "Baby Doll I love you, I swear to fucking god with everything in me I love you in ways I can't even begin to"

"Works for me" she sighed and delved her tongue down his throat, jumping in his lap and hooking her legs around his waist while kissing him as passionately as humanly possible, "Jamie darling I love you, I do why would you get hurt like that?" she sniffled and shook her head drearily, "Is it me? Did I make you do it?"

"No, I…"

"Then…" sniffling she shook her head and bumped her nose against his, "HELP me, Jamie tell me what is wrong"

"Nothing" he shook his head and kissed her reassuringly, sifting through her hair with his fingers before nodding, "I just screwed up, that's all"

"No but…" again she was cut off with a kiss and that was it. Their arms twined around the other and there they sat on the table making out. Normally James would have started for her neck but was too frightened to pull his lips from hers, so instead they simply kissed and enjoyed the act while they were in the midst of it.

Elizabeth decided to be a brat and pull on James's face to get his eyes on her, but the way Mindy gently sucked on his busted lower lip made it impossible for James to pull away…she may stop if he did. The last thing James wanted was for her to stop and what? Possibly fight with him again? He wasn't having any of it.

The clearing of the throat in the doorway was actually the shot to hell. Mindy pulled back and pouted her lips at the doorway to see quite possibly the last person James wanted right there with no reason for it at all.

"Lawson…" he gave James a nod though Mindy had to give the most sarcastic snort before craning her neck to face a horrified James, "she got a call too?"

"I-I d-d-d-didn't c-call you!" James uncharacteristically stammered, but Mindy was all over him like hot wax already.

"So something goes wrong and you call him?" her eyebrow rose amusedly and she nodded along, "I see how it is…"

"Baby Doll NO!"

"No WHAT?" she demanded with narrowed eyes, shaking her head at Mark and gritting her teeth, "How long has he been here, James?"

"I-I don't know…" he shook his head and frowned, "Baby there's no clock in here, I…"

"You know…" sniffling she licked her lips and shook her head at Mark standing there, "I came the second I got called because I thought you were all alone and scared…" she sneered, "but I should have known better than to think your pathetic needy ass would actually wait for a fucking second"

That stung more than he ever would want to admit.

"Couldn't wait the twenty minutes for me to get my ass over here when I have a house full of babies that I need to fucking constantly watch because YOU had to go on an abusive crusade to make me feel like complete fucking SHIT followed by THIS son of a bitch showing his face because YOU couldn't wait the twenty fucking minutes for me!"

"Baby Doll, no! It's not what you think at all-"

"Oh really James?" she nodded along sarcastically, "Then what is it, huh? What is it with you what do you want?"

"Look, I didn't fucking call him alright?"

"He sure got here faster than I did and I DOUBT Cooper gave the phone call-"

"He showed up on his OWN, Baby Doll!"

"BULLSHIT!"

Mark was just eating this up though he didn't show it.

"I fucking…" coughing she ran a hand through her hair and tried to hide the fact that she was crying, "I fucking…" another cough and sniffle, "I fucking raced here because I LOVE you no matter what the fuck you do to me and then I get here to see THIS?" motioning to Mark she shook her head with a snarl, "You know what? Do not fucking talk to me anymore, alright? I should have fucking known you could not wait the fucking twenty minutes it took for me to put the baby in the car and just leave the house with everybody in poor Taylor's charge."

"But you don't UNDERSTAND, Baby Doll, I didn't CALL him?"

"Then WHO DID?" she screamed, "He is NOT your emergency contact, James! The hospital has ME as your WIFE on file! WHO THE FUCK CALLED HIM, HUH? WHO? TELL ME!"

"I DON'T KNOW who called him!"

"But you sure as FUCK knew he was here…" her eyes narrowed, "didn't you? Or were you gonna wait until AFTER you fucked me to tell me I was a last resort or I did not get here fast enough to please you?"

He went to pull her close but she slapped the arm and growled at him, making Elizabeth jump from fright and hug James's neck.

"You got here FINE, Baby Doll I only want YOU here! Nobody else! I never want anybody else I only want YOU!"

"LIAR!"

"NO I'M NOT LYING TO YOU!"

"LIAR LIAR LIAR LIAR!"

"BABY DOLL PLEASE!" clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut he begged, "PLEASE let's just stop this, whatever I did-"

"NO! I am not taking that fucking 'I did nothing' guilt trip with you, James! Absolutely fucking not I am fucking sick of it"

"I'm not TRYING a guilt trip with you, Baby Doll PLEASE"

"LIAR LIAR LIAR LIAR!"

"BABY DOLL!"

"NO!"

"Listen to me…" he grabbed her and pulled her close so their foreheads pressed, not letting her leave despite the way she smacked and pushed him, "LISTEN…I think we need to go away for a while…just me and you…" endearingly he shook his head, "nobody else…no Connor no anybody…just us…and you get me all to yourself all day every day…we can go wherever you want…anywhere…"

"I would not go with you if you were the last person on earth" SMACK! Leaving the baby with James that was now she made her exit from the hospital.


	9. Chapter 9

**Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you! **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: He definitely did. And he's quite pleased that he did it. He knew damn well what he was doing when he showed up there. **jadeMK11**: XD I'm sure James would appreciate it if you did.

…

James just sat there, holding Elizabeth tightly against him as his body trembled. For one glorious instant, things seemed to be better. She had been there, she had cared about him and everything was right in the world. But then Mark-_fucking Mark_ had come in and ruined it all with his very presence. And not only had he done it on purpose, but he was proud of himself. To an outside observer it wouldn't seem that way but James knew that that was the case. He could see it written all over Mark's face.

"What?" Mark said innocently. He had noticed the look James was giving him and was trying to act like he had no idea what it was about. "I didn't do anything."

James could only snarl as he hopped up to his feet (wincing as the pain in his ribs flared up horribly) and got right in Mark's face. Elizabeth began to fuss the moment he went closer to him but he just hugged her tighter as he balled up his fist and belt Mark right in the mouth as hard as he could. "WHY?" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "WHY WHY WHY?"

"Lawson-"

"WHY ARE YOU HERE?" James hit him again before any kind of answer could be given. "WHY CAN'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?" Another blow. "I TOLD YOU TO FUCKING GO!"

Mark ducked the next punch and took a step back. If Elizabeth hadn't been in James's arms he would have hit him back long before now. Hell he really wanted to…but yeah, that was too stupid of a move to make. "I got a call-"

"BULLSHIT!" James was screaming at the top of his lungs, unaware that Cooper and all the doctors and nurses were watching him now. "THAT'S FUCKING BULLSHIT!" He took a couple of raggedy breaths, so furious that he couldn't even think straight. "I didn't call you! Cooper sure as fuck didn't do it either! The hospital has Baby Doll as my emergency contact, not you! So don't feed me that BULLSHIT!"

Mark listened to him passively, knowing that if he displayed any anger right now, it would just fuel James on even more. He was not only throwing the mother of all tantrums but several screws in his brain had obviously come undone the moment Mindy had left. The look James in his eyes wasn't one he held often; the look of pure, undiluted madness. But he had it now and Mark took a step back, wondering if it would be better if someone took Elizabeth away from him until he calmed the hell back down. "It don't matter how I heard-"

"IT DOES WHEN MY FUCKING WIFE THINKS I CALLED YOU AND HATES ME NOW!"

"Jesus CHRIST Lawson! You're acting INSANE!"

"You're fucking stalking me aren't you?" James wasn't listening to a word Mark was saying. His entire body was vibrating so violently that it was making Elizabeth cry in fright. Cooper and the others on the other side of the door were honestly frightened of the display he was putting on and while it seemed totally obvious that they needed to step in and do something, they couldn't. That fear was rooting them to right where they were standing. "You're fucking following me and just waiting to fucking fuck up EVERYTHING that's hanging by a fucking thread!"

"Lawson stop it," Mark said forcefully. "You're being an idiot-"

"Fuck you!" James tried to hit Mark again but Mark dodged it so James spit on him instead. Mark's eyes narrowed in anger but still he restrained himself, knowing the moment that he made a move against James that would be it because Elizabeth was in his arms. "FUCK YOU!" James yelled again, practically hyperventilating he was so worked up. "I HATE you! Go AWAY leave me ALONE!" He stormed towards the door and opened it, nearly spontaneously combusting at the sight of Cooper on the other side of it. "Did you fucking call him?" he snarled, grabbing Cooper by the collar of his shirt and shaking him violently. "Did you fucking do it?"

"Mr. Lawson!" the doctor said in shock as the nurses tried to pry him off of Cooper.

"Shut up!" James growled at him before returning his full attention to Cooper. "Fucking answer me!"

"No!" Cooper said quickly, shrinking at the rage that was staring right at him. "I didn't! He showed up on his own, I know that!" For what it was worth, he really did believe James this time. His gut was telling him that James wasn't trying to overcompensate to try to hide his guilt in this instance; he was genuinely enraged by the fact that not only was he there, but what damage it had done. Plus he knew that look in Mark's eyes too. He knew what it meant. He was trying to cause harm and it had worked pretty well.

And even if he didn't know or believe all that, he wouldn't have said it. James wanted to kill him enough as it was, he wasn't about to make that shit worse again.

That didn't make James feel any better. He just shoved Cooper down to the ground and looked back at the doctor, who had the paper with his prescription written out on it in his hands. "Give me that!" He snatched it out of the doctor's hands and held on to it tightly, instinctively bouncing Elizabeth a bit to get her to stop crying.

"Mr. Lawson, please-"

"Fuck you." That was about the only thing James had to say to anyone before he stormed off. He didn't want to hear ANYTHING from ANYONE…he was done. He was just fucking done

…

Taylor got the kids all sat at the table and eating their meal and was about to get some for herself when she heard the door open. "Stay here," she said to the kids as she went out to see who it was. All she managed to see was a glimpse of raven hair running up the stairs and swallowed heavily, knowing that it was bad. "Mom?" She ran up the stairs after her, not catching her in time before she slammed her and James's bedroom door shut. "Mom?" She went up to the door and knocked on it, cringing when all she got in return were loud sobs. _What the fuck did he do now…?_

…

Cooper tried to catch up with James again but this time James was long gone, which made him horribly uneasy. He was not only going off the deep end but he had Elizabeth with him this time. If something happened to her by accident Mindy sure as hell wouldn't ever forgive him and he wouldn't forgive himself either. Cooper wasn't even sure where to start looking for him though. The usual haunting spots? Somewhere else? He didn't know and that was the bad part. He just didn't fucking know.

His phone in his pocket rang and he sighed and took it out so he could answer it. "What?" Not the most friendly greeting in the world but he wasn't really in the mood for being friendly.

"What the fuck happened?" Taylor asked immediately. "Mom came home and now she's locked herself in her room crying-"

Cooper sighed loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mark showed up and made it sound like Dad called him here."

Taylor snorted. "And he didn't?"

"Honestly? This time, I believe Dad. After Mom stormed off Dad flipped his shit-"

"Maybe it was just a convincing performance."

"Oh no. I know Dad and Mark way too well and I know when bullshit is coming from them. Dad didn't call him, I didn't call him-I think fucking Mark must have been following us or something because neither of us wanted him there."

Taylor scoffed, really not buying into that very much. Cooper's eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "What, you don't believe me now?"

"What?" Taylor was startled, realizing that Cooper was taking her disbelief pretty personally. "Cooper I-"

"Look, Dad has fucked up on epic levels before but this time I'm willing to bet my life on the fact that he had nothing to do with this." Pretty bold statement right there but the instinctive protectiveness he had of James was starting to come back in spades and he was going to let his opinion be known. "I know him, you don't and I saw him afterwards and you didn't. Mom storming out broke him-"

"He's a grown man," Taylor pointed out. "He-"

"He's a lovesick puppy for Mom," Cooper snapped. "And he's nuts…and enraged…and he has Lizzie Bear…"

"He has Lizzie? Cooper!"

"What? Don't say my name like that! I just about got throttled before he stormed off, don't give me more shit on top of it!"

"Sorry…"

Cooper shook his head, barely even hearing her. "I gotta try to find him. Don't know what good it'll do but I'll give it a shot." He hung up with that, not even saying goodbye before doing it. Part of him wanted to go back to find Mark and beat his ass but knowing his biological father, he was probably long gone by now so there was no point in that. So off to find James he went, knowing that this was going to be a wild goose chase but he was going to try it anyway. He had to do something. If nothing else, he could feel at least a little bit useful.

…

James gingerly sat down on the bench, placing Elizabeth down next to him and holding his ribs while looking at what he had just gotten himself. The prescription the doctors had written for him was for pain pills for his broken ribs and he had gotten that filled before buying himself a giant bottle of scotch and retreating to the park near the house. He had originally been planning on getting some vodka but then he had seen the scotch and it had called to him…and he hadn't fought it. He hadn't had the ability to. He had just given in and bought the damn thing and now he was staring at it anxiously.

"Mom was an alcoholic," he told Elizabeth, who was holding on to Lammy and staring at him with wide eyes. "And this was her favorite thing to drink…I don't even remember her drinking any other kind of alcohol." He unscrewed the lid to it and set it aside before opening the pill bottle. The thing only said to take like one or two but he went ahead and poured like five of them into his hand. He was a bigger guy, it was going to take a lot more of them to do him any good. "I've never really drank this though-my possession not withstanding." He looked at Elizabeth then back at the pills and alcohol and then back at Elizabeth. "There's a first time for everything though, isn't there?"

Elizabeth cooed softly as she watched him pop the pills into his mouth and chase it down with the scotch. He didn't just take a drink of it; he was chugging it like there was no tomorrow. He downed half the bottle in one setting and when he stopped he belched loudly before looking at his young daughter pathetically.

"Mommy hates me Lizzie Bear." He was crying and it was just so sad and pathetic that the person taking all the pictures of Elizabeth stopped and stared at him, shaking his head while he did so. "I didn't call Mark, honest! I didn't…you believe me right Lizzie Bear?"

"Da!" Elizabeth pulled herself up by using him and she started clinging to him like a little monkey. He hugged her back tightly, burying his face against her neck like he had done to Mindy many times over. The combination of the alcohol and pills were already hitting him hard and once he downed the rest of the bottle it only got worse.

"I'll make Mommy believe me," he decided, his words slightly slurred and his balance slightly thrown off as he started stumbling towards the direction of home. "I will. I'll make her believe…."

…

The man with the camera shook his head as James took Elizabeth and left. That had been absolutely pathetic, yet hypnotizing as well. A man so big and strong getting torn to his wit's end by a pint sized bitch that was clearly just asking for it-it was useful to know that James Lawson was a man ruled by his heart. It just made this whole thing much more entertaining.

He emerged from his hiding spot once James was completely gone and he went to his car, which was a black Range Rover. Once he was inside, he stopped to look at the pictures he had just taken. Little Lizzie Bear…so pretty. Such a gem. Soon it would be time for them to meet face to face. But until that day, these pictures and the rest of his collection would be enough to get him through until the time came for him to have her himself.

…

James stumbled in through the front door, kicking the door shut behind him and going upstairs, trying not to slip but barely able to do that. The booze and the pills had caused his head to swim and he felt so fucked up that he wanted to just pass out right then and there. He forced himself to stay awake though, and he got up there to find Taylor standing by his bedroom door.

"She…she don't want to see you," Taylor said, trying to swallow down her fear of him to let him know that he wasn't wanted.

He just sneered at her before handing Elizabeth off to her. "She needs fed," he said before grabbing the door handle and trying to open it.

"It's locked," Taylor said, taking Elizabeth and then taking a couple giant steps back. As if he didn't frighten her enough already, his condition now was just making it worse. He was clearly drunk, clearly on something and clearly snapped. "She don't want-"

"Shut up," James ordered before raising his foot and kicking the door open. He nearly lost his balance in the process but he managed to regain it and he stormed in there, slamming the door shut again behind him. Mindy shot up in the bed and glared at him angrily with her red puffy eyes.

"Get OUT!" she ordered, pointing to the door he had just burst in through.

"No," he replied, locking it so Taylor couldn't try to get in and interfere. "I gotta talk to you."

She shook her head. "I don't want to hear it!" She got off the bed and pointed towards the door some more. "I don't wanna talk to you, I don't wanna hear you, I don't even want to see you James! Get out!"

"Baby Doll-" He groaned as she started hitting him and trying to push him towards the door. She didn't get him to budge an inch and finally she just gave up and tried to storm out herself. Something inside of him snapped even more right at that moment. He didn't know if the drugs and the booze helped it along or if he legitimately snapped all on his own. What he did know was that before he even knew what he was doing he had grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back so she wouldn't get away.

"LISTEN to me!" He grabbed her wrists to keep her from hitting him and then gave her a shake when she tried to wiggle out of his grasp. "Fucking LISTEN TO ME! I didn't fucking call Mark! He fucking showed up on his own-"

"Liar! You're a fucking liar James-"

"I'm NOT FUCKING LYING!"

"ARE TOO!"

"AM NOT!"

"Are too! Liar liar liar liar-"

"Baby Doll-"

-liar liar liar liar-

"Miranda!"

"-LIAR LIAR LIAR LIAR-

Without even thinking James popped her right in the mouth with the back of his hand. It wasn't even with half of his strength but the fact that he did it stunned the both of them. His stomach immediately began to churn and the very core of his being burned with self hatred but he was so fucked up and he was just so far away from his sanity to begin with that he couldn't even begin to show it. "I'm NOT fucking lying!" he yelled, getting right in her face so she would fucking listen and get the message. "I'm not I'm not I'm not!" He sounded like a two year old throwing a tantrum but he couldn't give a shit at all. He had to fucking make her understand the truth. "I didn't fucking call him! He fucking showed up and said that shit to mess with you…he fucking wants to get you away from me…" He was starting to feel really woozy and he sank down on to the bed and pulled her on to his lap so he could cling to her like a teddy bear or something. "He did it…it wasn't me I swear." He buried his face against her neck and started babbling, becoming just as pathetic as he had been in the park with Elizabeth. "You're my Baby Doll…I love you, I don't want him…don't want him want you…my Baby Doll…my sweet Baby Doll…"


	10. Chapter 10

**Cathy **and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: The creeper is about to make his presence really known in this chapter…little warning for you. And awww, it's definitely a cute little nickname. If I knew a little girl named Lizzie I would do the same thing. **jadeMK11**: He might go through with that. He's definitely angry enough to do it.

…

Mindy slept by James's side the entire night, not moving for anything in fear of him hitting her again. Now, it was a love tap more than anything but still he fucking hit her and cursed at her and pulled her hair and it was too scary to want to see again. Yeah she had problems with him being a bitch but still, the way he was behaving last night was just too scary to imagine. He'd passed out against the wall with her in his lap and of course she didn't fucking move. By doing what he did last night he was finally asserting his dominance over her and finally she could take her part as trinket. It was the only position she knew how to play properly and he clearly wanted that from her. She was to listen, she was to obey, and she was to please him no matter the cost. Did she believe anything that came from his mouth? Absolutely not he was fucking plastered.

His hair was softer than usual this morning as he slept, the scotch on his breath not even bothering Mindy as she sat obediently curled in his lap. There was no way in hell she was moving from there unless he told her to do so…there was no way she was moving anywhere unless he told her. She was his wife, his property. Kane had taught her that lesson and she abided by it for the most part she was very good, but James was too light on her and she didn't know what to do with herself. Kane's OCD had him constantly cleaning and disciplining their children, but James did none of that he didn't even give commands. What kind of man of the house didn't give commands? No one listened to him because he wasn't intimidating. No one took what this man was truly capable of seriously but she was hoping they would and this was his wakeup call. Her position as his wife was to be objectified, and finally he was catching on.

Kissing his cheek she leaned up and tilted his head back just to admire the gorgeous dark hair and narrow bone structure of his face. Regardless of how she felt about his personality he was always beautiful. James in her mind was synonymous with beautiful because he was. Everything about the man was pure beauty and she loved him deeper than she could ever bring herself to admit. She didn't know what to do with him half the time because if it were up to her it would be the two of them making love all day every day. That was the way she felt about him, and more than anything she wanted to bear his children. Carrying Aiden around wasn't a chore to her it was an honor. She lived and breathed James though she didn't act upon it. If she did he would just hang all over her and not pay attention to important shit anyway. She'd never tell him, but if he had half a brain he would know he was her world.

…

"_You belong to me, my Snow White Queen…"_ Amber sang while brushing out Scarlett's hair in her room when she caught her mother coming down the hallway completely latched to James…which just so wasn't like her.

Clearly the fucker was hung over, which meant that her mother was totally and completely screwed and there was nothing she could fairly do about it. Her mother had tried to leave but he wouldn't let her, he wouldn't let her fucking leave even when she tried to kill herself to do so.

"Mommy looks sad" Scarlett pointed out innocently before combing her fingers through her long blonde hair and sighing.

"Mommy's always sad" Amber shook her head with a frown, just staring at the way Mindy silently trailed behind James like a puppy and went down with him. She wasn't happy though; the look on her face was something Amber couldn't bear to stomach any longer it was pure agony disguised by that clever blank slate her schizophrenia masked.

"Why is she following Daddy?" Scarlett pouted her lips and peered in the doorway when Amber shook her head with a sneer.

"Why do you THINK?" Amber growled before shaking her head. Mindy used to follow Kane around like that and she HATED him more than anything in the world, but she was a good wife. Her duty was to whoever she married and for the most part she kept her end of the bargain by spending hours a day cooking meals, ensuring the place seemed clean because for some asshole reason James didn't hire a maid despite Mindy's requests, and child-rearing because James sure didn't.

"So?" Scarlett motioned to the open doorway and shrugged, "Go help her, you're the oldest!"

"Oh yeah?" Amber turned and shrugged at her, "What do I do? Come at James with a knife? That will be so useful!"

"He won't KILL you"

"If I came after him with a knife he would" Amber nodded and headed out the doorway when her chest tightened and she froze. Sniffling and holding still she violently tried to breathe but it was coming out as harsh wheezes.

"Ambie?" Scarlett's eyebrow rose and she rose a blonde eyebrow, "Ambie!"

She wasn't responding, she could barely hear. One of Amber's hands went to the wall and the other on her throat so she could cough before staggering a few steps and letting her eyelids droop closed for a moment.

"I'm really tired…"

"MOMMY!" Scarlett shrieked and headed out of the room as fast as she could, "MOMMY! MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY!"

"WHAT?" immediately Mindy snapped out of lapdog mode and frigged her drunken husband for a moment.

"MOMMY!" Scarlett screamed and threw herself into her mother for a moment, panting and hugging her frantically while pointing up the stairs.

"What? Babyboo what is it, huh? What's the matter?" Mindy frowned when Scarlett hopped all over that and began to cry.

"Ambie's SICK! She can't move!"

Mindy couldn't even answer; her mind raced in twelve different directions before bolting up the stairs with Scarlett in hand, "AMBIE!"

"Amber!" Tryg's attention immediately was caught and he ran from his room, "AMBER!"

By the time Mindy got upstairs practically dragging Scarlett with her Amber was catatonic with a swollen belly in Scarlett's doorway, unable to even lift her eyes to face her mother she was in so much pain.

"AMBIE?" Mindy shrieked and grabbed her arms while dropping to her knees to get a good look at her, "AMBIE!"

"I'm okay Mommy…!" a trembling Amber nodded erratically before falling forwards into Mindy's shoulder.

"AMBER!" shaking her head frantically Mindy looked the child over and pet her hair before taking a moment to soak in what just happened before facing Tryg and Scarlett, "You stay here with your drunken fucking father I am taking Amber to the hospital with Lizzie Bear so he does not go for her"

"What's wrong, Mommy?" Taylor raced up the stairs with Chelsea and Elizabeth before gasping and shaking her head at Mindy actually standing up lifting the child who was almost her height she was so tall for her age, "OH god…!"

"I'm taking her to the hospital" Mindy clamped a hand in Amber's thick wavy blonde hair before pointing to Elizabeth and jerking her head forwards, "Put the baby in the carseat I don't want James alone with her"

"I can watch h-"

"Just put my daughter in the god damn fucking car!" Mindy snapped, while carefully moving down the stairs and grabbing her car keys.

"But what about James?" Taylor gasped worriedly while scanning her large blue eyes about for James, who of course was out of sight. Who knew where he was but if he found out Mindy left alone with the baby god knew what he would do.

"FUCK James my daughter is SICK!" Mindy shrieked while sitting Amber in the passenger seat and Elizabeth in the back of her little while Porsche, "You WATCH them, you got me?"

"Y-yes Mom" Taylor nodded quickly before pulling her phone out to start thumbing through Mindy's contacts god forbid the worst happened. Amber was usually a horse how she could just collapse like that was beyond anyone.

"I'll be BACK" Mindy nodded while starting the car and pulling up the garage door, "Keep my children AWAY from that bastard you got me?"

"Y-yes Mom" Taylor nodded as Mindy backed right out and didn't even acknowledge.

…

Mindy had raced Amber to St. Mary's in record time before getting out of the car and being met by a fleet of pre-called bodyguards for the celebrity. Out of the car Amber went into an arm of one of the guards as a fleet of paparazzi greeted the star to snap as many pictures of her as they could. Seeing the star without her hulking husband was a rarity so everyone was curious as to why the raven was let out of her cage for the day. Tears were streaming down her face as Mindy followed the bodyguards in while holding both Elizabeth and a hunk of Amber's hair.

…

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, Lizzie Bear…" Mindy kissed the top of Elizabeth's head and rattled from fear as they paced in the room with unconscious Amber lying in the bed under heavy surveillance.

"Mum mum mum!" Elizabeth kissed Mindy and pointed to Amber while looking up at her mother, who could only shake her head and sit on the bed next to her lanky daughter.

"Sssshh…" petting the top of her blonde head so she wouldn't stir Amber, Mindy kissed Elizabeth's head repeatedly and hold her close, "You gotta be a good girl for Mommy while they check out Ambie, okay?"

A clearing of the throat from the doorway caught Mindy's attention next.

"Miss Stratus?" the doctor caught Mindy's attention and the rockstar whipped her head of raven hair around to face him.

"Anything?" Mindy frowned while peering towards the doorway and clutched Elizabeth close.

"Miss Stratus…"

Already she didn't like the way the doctor was looking at her, so she swallowed hard and kissed Elizabeth's head nervously.

"Can you tell me what's going on with my daughter?" Mindy frowned and squeezed Amber's chilled hand in hers when the doctor spoke up.

"Miss Stratus I think you should come with me…"

Mindy froze uncomfortably before hugging Elizabeth and nodding, "O-okay…" taking a shaky breath she kissed the top of Elizabeth's head and tossed her hair behind her shoulder, "Come on, Lizzie Bear…"

"I don't think bringing the baby is the best idea"

"Why?" Mindy shook her head and hugged Elizabeth close, "She is a baby, I do not think-"

"Please, Miss Stratus I seriously advise you not to bring the baby"

"My husband is not here, the baby stays with me"

"There are nurses around, Miss Stratus we can just hand her off to them for a few minutes"

"Why? No" Mindy shook her head with narrowed eyes, "Not until you tell me what is wrong with my daughter"

"I'm afraid I can't do that…" shaking his head he found a nurse at the nurse's station and signaled her, "Loughanne!"

The middle-aged nurse made her way over and nodded at him.

"Do you mind…?" he motioned to the baby and Mindy watched warily as Elizabeth was removed from her arms and immediately started to scream at Mindy being led by the doctor towards a private office. Mindy cringed and tried not to cry at the way Elizabeth was screaming, but it was only for a few minutes.

…

"Amber's spinal tap results are in…" the doctor began and Mindy was wringing her hands together while biting down hard on her lower lip.

"She has anemia like me-"

"How long as she had the anemia, Miss Stratus?"

"Um…" her heart was pounding so hard she couldn't function, "I don't know like, a year or two…why?"

The doctor's face fell and he handed Mindy a little piece of paper with a name and number, "I'm giving you contact information for Dr. Mary Kay Myers…she's a hematologist."

Mindy didn't answer, she didn't even think her eyes were just on that paper.

"Amber has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia."

Mindy's face fell and she just stared at nothing, a long silence passed…then her hand came up out of nowhere.

SLAP!

The doctor kept his head turned to the side when Mindy threw herself through the door and ran down the hallway towards the nurse's station a screaming crying mess.

"Lizzie! Lizzie Bear!" glancing about the nurse's station Mindy leaned over the counter and peeked about but there was no Elizabeth in sight, which scared the shit out of her and she continued looking, "No, no no no no no, Lizzie Lizzie Lizzie Bear where are you where are you?"

"Can I help you, Miss Stratus?" that was fucking Loughanne, and immediately Mindy slapped her palms to the table like a toddler and demanded.

"Lizzie Bear! Where's my baby?"

"Why, Miss Stratus she's…" Loughanne turned around and there was a carrier right there, but no Elizabeth. Mindy's eyes were bigger than the clock mounted on the wall and her face paled.

"WHERE…" a growl, "is my baby?"

"I-I had her right here I swear-"

"ELIZABETH!" she shrieked and bolted down hallways, "ELIZABETH!"

Every room, every door and compartment was torn into all over the floor and staff raced to grab the rockstar before she hurt someone.

"MINDY!" Loughanne tried to grab her when Mindy screamed, turned, and used a scalpel on a table to stab the nurse in the chest right in front of the entire hospital staff.


	11. Chapter 11

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer:** Oh no, he don't want that at all. Once he sobers up and realizes what he did he's going to feel absolutely terrible. **jadeMK11**: *shakes head* It's disgusting how neglectful that nurse was. It really is. If she don't die that scalpel she got in her chest should be a nice lesson for her. **Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

"Coopy, how long is Daddy going to be sleeping?" Connor asked as he sat on the floor and watched James sleep on the couch. He had been pretty fucked up from his hangover and had ended up just stumbling into the living room and passing the fuck out without even realizing Mindy had rushed Amber to the hospital.

Cooper shook his head. "I don't know." This whole thing really did not set well with him at all. James never just crashed like this, even during his worst hangovers. That must have meant he had either drank way way more than usual or taken something on top of it. Whatever the case was, he knew in his gut that something wasn't right and he didn't like it. "Soon hopefully."

Connor pouted his lips and got on his hands and knees so he could crawl and be directly next to the couch. "Should I wake him up?" He got up on his knees and leaned in so he was literally a centimeter away from his face. "I can do it Coopy. I'll wake him right up."

"Get out of his face Connor," Cooper ordered. "He needs to sleep this shit off." He knew that James was going to more than likely be in a world of trouble once he woke up so he figured it would be better if he woke up sober and hopefully not cranky.

"But Coopy-"

"You heard me Connor." Cooper grabbed Connor by his shirt and yanked him back hard.

"OW!" Connor shouted not because it hurt but because he felt like being obnoxious. "You're mean Coopy! You're a big stupid meanie head!"

"Yeah well, get over it." Cooper plopped down on the chair and propped his feet up on the coffee table. "And keep it down alright? I'm not in the mood to hear you yell."

Connor scowled until he realized that it was having no effect whatsoever on Cooper. Then he huffed loudly and crawled over to the chair so he could sit by Cooper and stick his tongue out and pant. "Woof woof! I'm a doggy Coopy! See?" He threw his head back and howled like Snoopy did when he wanted something. "Pet me Coopy, pet me!"

"Connor knock it off," Cooper said, shaking his head and grabbing the remote so he could turn on the TV. If Connor was going to be in here then he was going to need some sort of distraction so he would quit being so damn annoying. "You're not a dog."

"Yes I am!" Connor was not in the mood to be denied. He climbed up on to Cooper's lap and began to lick his face. "See? I'm kissing you like a doggy!"

"Oh fucking hell!" Cooper winced and began trying to push Connor away without just flat out shoving him on the floor. "Connor stop! You fucking freak, knock it off!"

Connor just laughed and licked Cooper one more time before hopping back down on the floor. "Turn on cartoons Coopy," he ordered. "I want to watch them."

"What do you say?"

"Now!"

That was not the answer Cooper was actually looking for but given how Connor was behaving, he was not in the mood to try to force manners on him. He switched on the television and turned it to Cartoon Network so Connor could watch it and he could ignore it by skimming through one of the magazines that were sitting on the coffee table. "There. Are you happy now?"

"Yes!" Connor crawled to just a few inches away from the TV and sat with his legs crossed, dutifully watching the cartoons like they were the most important thing in the world. Cooper rolled his eyes at him and started to reach for one of the magazines but stopped when he heard a loud groan and a thump. "What-" He looked over and saw that James had fallen off the couch and was now trying to pick himself up. "Dad-"

James waved his hand around wildly before stumbling away as fast as he could, leaving Connor and Cooper to just sit there and stare at each other. "Is Daddy going to be sick?" Connor asked.

"Yeah probably," Cooper confirmed.

"Should we go help him?"

"I think it would be better if we just stay here."

"Okay Coopy, whatever you say."

…

James heaved violently into the toilet, his head throbbing horribly and his world spinning. At that moment, he felt like he just wanted the earth to swallow him up whole and make it quick because it felt like he was slowly dying or some shit. Everything from last night and the first time he woke up today was just a huge blur. He had had some killer hangovers in his time but this was just insane. _Pills and booze…now I know why they don't mix._

He continued to throw up until there was literally nothing left in his system and then he continued to dry heave a little more after that. Once he finally managed to stop, he flushed the toilet and slumped over so he could rest up against the sink. Had he fucking overdosed or something? He sure as fuck had never felt this horrible before in his life. He reached up and grabbed the edge of the sink so he could pull himself up to his feet. "Fuck," he groaned under his breath. He turned on the cold water and rinsed his mouth out really well before rinsing his face off to try to wake himself the hell up. Slowly but surely, things were starting to come back to him. Not all of it was in order but it was coming back…

"Oh fuck," he whispered when he remembered popping Mindy in the mouth. He shook his head even though it killed his head to do so because he had to try to deny it to himself. He hadn't done that. Not that, not to his Baby Doll. But as hard as he tried to deny it to himself, the truth of the matter was he could not escape it. He had hit her. He had hit her he had hit her he had hit her…

He gagged violently and he flew back down to the toilet to heave some more just out of pure disgust with himself. Internally he was shriveling up in shame and guilt began to gnaw away at his heart, which made his chest ache horribly. What the hell was wrong with him? How could he have done that? He couldn't even begin to fathom any good reason. He heaved some more, hoping he would just hurl up his internal organs and be done with it. What the hell was he becoming? He couldn't make her happy and now he had hit her….he was just failing on so many levels that it wasn't even remotely funny.

Once he was done once again, he stayed on his knees and rested his head against the sink once more. There was a huge part of him that wanted to just believe that shit had been a dream. A horrible dream that was freaking him out but hadn't actually happened. But he knew that it wasn't and it was making him feel hopeless and helpless, drowning in guilt because he had once again done something he had swore he would never do. _What the fuck is wrong with me? What the fuck am I going to do for my next trick_? He shook his head and breathed heavily, hating himself and trying to figure out how he could possibly fix the damage he had done. _If I can fix it…_

…

"Daddy!" Chelsea called out as she searched for James, holding Stickers tightly and completely ignoring Taylor as she chased after her. She didn't want her right now. She wanted Daddy and she would be damned if anyone got in between her and him. "Daddy!" She heard a noise come from his office and since it was his office, her first thought was that it was him in there. "Daddy!" She trotted right to the door that was only partly closed around and pushed it open so she could go inside. "Daddy!" She frowned when she didn't see him. "Daddy!" She looked around, her eyes narrowing when she saw a woman standing in the corner of the room, watching her with narrowed angry eyes. "No!" she shouted, shaking her head and making her blonde curls whip around freely. "Go away! This is Daddy's office!" This was really starting to make her mad. Why didn't these people understand that they couldn't have James's office? This was HIS office, not theirs. They were not allowed to steal it.

The woman smirked and took a step forward, which made Stickers hiss loudly and wriggle around violently in Chelsea's arms. Chelsea's eyes widened as the woman laughed and took another step forward just so Stickers would freak out even more. "NO!" Chelsea turned around and ran away, which made the woman laugh loudly. "Go away! No no! Daddy! DADDY!"

…

James opened his eyes and glanced towards the door. "Chelsea?"

"DADDY!"

"Chelsea?" He forced himself back up to his feet and lumbered towards the door. "Chelsea!"

…

"Chelsea what's the matter?" Taylor asked as she, Thorn and Oxa came around the corner to find the young girl running away as she held on to Stickers. "Chelsea!"

"Is it Snoopy again?" Thorn asked as she watched Taylor scoop Chelsea up into her arms. Sure she didn't see the beagle anywhere but she wouldn't put it past him to be doing something naughty again. He was Connor's puppy after all.

Taylor shook her head and bounced the distraught three year old in order to try to soothe her. "Chelsea what's wrong? What's the matter?"

Chelsea just screamed and distracted Thorn and Taylor from the figure that emerged from James's office. Oxa saw her though and her fur immediately stood up on end and she growled, which attracted Taylor and Thorn's attention over to her.

"Oxa what is it?" Thorn asked. "What's-WAHH!"

"Who are you?" Taylor yelled, immediately pushing Thorn behind her and clutching Chelsea even more tightly against her. Stickers was still going nuts and Oxa was growling like nothing she had ever heard before. "How did you get in here?"

The woman tilted her head to the side before grinning devilishly. "My name is Caroline…and the rest is none of your business whore." She smirked at the way Taylor flinched at those words and then turned her attention to Oxa, who was crouching down into pounce position. "Oh look, it's the kitty. You remember me, don't you you fucking stupid cat?"

Oxa growled and crouched down even lower before pouncing, which made Thorn cry out in fright. Caroline fully expected that though and she kicked her foot out as hard as she could and caught Oxa directly in the face, stunning the animal just long enough to allow her to pick her up by the scruff of the neck and toss her back to the screaming and crying Thorn.

"What the hell is-" James came to a screeching halt when he saw Caroline standing there, openly laughing at what she had just done. "Oh fucking hell." His insides went cold and he felt himself start to hyperventilate. "No no no no…."

"Happy to see me?" Caroline asked with a grin.

"Daddy she hurt Oxa!" Thorn exclaimed, hugging her precious Serval tightly and pointing to Caroline angrily. "She hurt her she did! Get her!"

"Daddy!" Chelsea screamed impatiently.

James gulped nervously and as much as the terrorized little boy in him didn't want to, he stepped forward and put himself in between Caroline and the frightened children. "Get out of here Caroline," he said, trying to sound threatening but knowing he wasn't scaring her at all. "Get out of here and fucking-"

"Or you'll do what exactly?" Caroline asked with a smirk. "I'm dead, you can't kill me again!"

"What?" Taylor shrieked, which made Caroline (and secretly James) roll their eyes.

Thorn gasped loudly. "You're one of the mean ones Daddy killed! He chopped you up real good he did! He chopped you up and burned you in the desert."

"Wow, bragging to the slut's children." Caroline chuckled dryly at that. "Way to go shithead.

"Get out," James growled, trying to discreetly motion for Taylor to take Thorn and Chelsea the fuck out of there. If he commanded it out loud, it could spur Caroline into proving that no matter where they hid, she would find them. She had done it to him and Annabelle on numerous occasions, he didn't put anything past her.

"But I have such big news to tell you!" Caroline looked way too gleeful. It was NOT a look she normally wore and that really scared him. "See, while you were busy here recovering from that little bender you went on, your precious _Baby Doll_-" the way she said it just completely mocked the way James normally said it "-had to go to the hospital and find out that her dear precious Amber is horribly horribly sick. I'm talking cancer-"

Thorn and Taylor both gasped and James immediately tried to grab them so he could get the others and get to the other so they could book it to the hospital but Caroline grabbed his wrist and spun him back around to face her.

"No no no! That is NOT the best part of this story!" Her grip tightened when he tried to yank himself free. "You see, as the doctor was delivering the news, your Baby Doll left your precious Lizzie Bear with a nurse. And the nurse, didn't watch her at all. She just went on with her pathetic existence as some man came up, SNATCHED your baby up and left the hospital with her."

"No," James said automatically. He shook his head furiously. "You're lying. You're fucking making this up-"

"Am not!" Caroline shot back. "A toad-y little man snatched your baby and for all we know now, he killed her and-"

"SHUT UP!" James roared. He yanked himself free from her grip and got right in her face. "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT-"

Thorn and Taylor both screamed and ducked as Caroline had quite enough of that and blasted James back with her famous right hook. He went crashing to the ground and she looked ready to do more damage but stopped when the phone rang. "That's probably for you," she said, the gleeful look returning to her face once more. "Telling you all about the kidnapping and what dear precious Baby Doll did to that nurse after she found out." She giggled maniacally, just completely more fucking insane than she ever had been before. "And James? If Lizzie Bear is dead like I think she is, don't worry. I'll keep her company in hell until you get there." With that she threw her head back and howled with laughter before disappearing as suddenly as she came.


	12. Chapter 12

**Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **cathy**: It was and there will be more craziness coming up. We're just getting started here. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Apparently hell is bad at keeping her. That's about the only explanation I can offer. And yeah, James does have to fix it…though given the Lizzie situation, both James and Mindy have even bigger shit to worry about. **jadeMK11**: To watch him suffer. She knows what Elizabeth means to him, she couldn't pass up the chance to rub it in his face.

…

_"Hah JAMIE…!" Mindy giggled wildly standing at the edge of a dock with her boyfriend James in Malibu not far from the beach manor they were living in. He stood at the edge with a hand of hers clasped tightly in his just watching the water churn below them and taking slow breaths. The mid-afternoon sun snared itself in his longish dark hair and little subtle beads of shiny sweat coated his toned shirtless body. _

_His lips twitched in amusement before turning his tanned face from the sun to smile endearingly at her, pulling her closer by the wrist, "Yes, my beautiful Baby Doll?"_

_Poking her tongue between her teeth she let him reel her in before reaching up and ever-so-gently cupping his face in the palm of her hand and sliding it down, "I love you, James…"_

"_I love you more" he responded automatically with raised eyebrows, admiring the engagement ring on her finger and picturing their baby growing inside of her before dipping his beautiful head like a puppy and bumping the bridge of his nose against hers, "I can't wait to be a daddy with the world's most gorgeous wife to ever live"_

"_Pfft" shaking her head she turned away with a giggle when he snapped her head right back to his and snickered._

"_No…! What's this…" he mimicked the sound she emitted before pressing their foreheads and kissing her lips, "about, huh? What's this…" he kissed her longer and let her arms link around his neck, "negative Nancy shit, huh?"_

_They kissed longer and she nipped his bottom lip before pulling the smooth flesh into her mouth and lightly sucking, welcoming his tongue next when he swept her off the ground and she yelped._

"_JAMES!"_

_Laughing he spun her in the air and ran with her slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before smacking her rear._

"_JAMES! NO!"_

_Another spin and he dipped her, flashing his most charming grin before jumping into the ocean with her in his arms and she shrieked the entire way down. _

"_JAMES! JAMES NO! NO JAMES!"_

_PLOP! The pair collided with the water but James's legs took most of the hit. Mindy choked and spewed water until she realized not only was James treading water supporting both their weights in the icy choppy Pacific waters, but he had kissed the side of her sopping wet head and smoothed the hair down as best he could. Sniffling and listening to both the churning of the icy water as it slapped against James's broad back and his panting breaths which were gradually simmering down, Mindy tilted her head all the way back to see they had dropped about eleven feet but were close enough just to swim into shore no problem. Breathing deeply through her nose Mindy shook her head and wrapped both arms around the cheeky James's neck as he pushed them both backwards towards the nearest point that his feet could touch the ground._

"_Why?" was all she could shake her head and say with a shrug, "Why, James Paul Lawson would you do that? Was there a point?"_

_Seizing the opportunity to stroke her mop of raven hair as it floated in the water, James leaned down and captured her lips in a deep kiss, practically melting right in her arms as she returned it just as passionately and sucked his full lower lip. He had a face on him she constantly wanted to kiss and the boyish grin which wouldn't leave whenever she looked his way made her want to squeeze her eyes shut and cry until she woke up from the dream…but he was real. James was real and he was hers. His ring was on her finger, and she was carrying his child. Their child…with a father like him she could only dream their baby was born half as beautiful. She wasn't pretty, she was never pretty until she ripped her face off and got a new body. Even now she didn't know how the hell she managed to bag him, just the very idea of him brought a shiver up her spine and they kissed again._

_Large hands roamed her short torso and dug under her white sundress, dropping her mouth further onto his to the point that they were stealing breath from the other._

"_I love you, James…" choking from anxiety she breathed into his mouth and he gave her a pleading look as two stocky legs wrapped around his waist. _

"_What is it, Baby Doll?" sealing with small kisses all over and around her lips, he let her smooth his longish dark hair down before throwing her weight around his neck and sobbing into his skin._

"_Don't hurt me"_

"_Never" kissing her temple and smoothing her hair he prompted a smile from her and slowly opened his mouth to give a long French kiss, "Cross my heart…"_

_She became cross and pouted those collagen-fused lips of hers, "How do you know that, Jamie darling?"_

_Now he got the smile out of her, "Because you ARE my heart."_

"Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie where are you, Jamie where ARE you?" Mindy's high squeaky voice croaked while she paced the room she was confined in slapping a palm to the wall repeatedly.

Dr. Halla was already seated as the unhinged young woman continued pacing about Amber's hospital room with a slew of security guarding the doors to protect the volatile patient and those around her. Halla was too scared to shoot her up with anything yet especially after she acted out and stabbed the idiot nurse. Though technically James was held responsible, a clause in Mindy's medical records was expertly crafted by her lawyers to get James out of this. The deal was that Mindy was not to be ever touched by any person during an episode without a sedative in hand. The stabbed nurse was either dead or in critical condition Mindy wasn't in the mood to find out, but the bottom line was that James was protected as her conservator. He wasn't her chaperone; he didn't have to monitor her. His ownership of her was more economical than anything but still it was a cause of concern.

The young woman swayed waywardly while clanking a tiny hand against the glass wall which had the blinds drawn so nobody could stroll by Amber's single beautiful room and stare in.

"I want Jamie I want Jamie I want Jamie I want him I want my Jamie I do I want him I want him!" Mindy chanted while slapping a palm to the wall rhythmically, eyes completely glazed over and faraway as the lengthy raven hair hung in her face, "I want JAMES I want JAMES JAMES JAMES I WANT JAMES!" her voice spiked higher and higher while slapping a palm to the glass, tears glazing Amber's eyes that she was forced to watch her mother this way. Not only was her baby sister gone, but these hospital nuts were making a complete spectacle of her beautiful mother and for some reason refused to shoot her with a drug to calm her. Amber didn't even know if they were trying to look for Elizabeth, but still she cried in her bed watching Mindy just get more and more deranged as Halla took notes. Mindy's gate was off, her skin paled and red flicks shot from those signature ice-blue iris's of hers, "I want JAMES I WANT JAMES I WANT HIM!"

"CALL MY DAD!" Amber screeched at Halla and a few nurses who stood by, but no one did a thing and it enraged the blonde child, "CALL MY FUCKING FATHER NOW! SHE WANTS HIM! TELL HIM! TELL HIM SHE WANTS HIM TELL HIM NOW! TELL HIM-"

A nurse grabbed Amber's arm while shushing her and injected a sedative into her IV until the child passed out. If Mindy weren't in the midst of a schizophrenic meltdown she would have noticed and destroyed the nurse for shooting her cancer-stricken daughter with medicine, but instead she was screaming at the top of her lungs tilting her head at the clock on the wall. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Over and over again she thumped the wall with a wrinkled nose for her request to be fulfilled but no one responded…just more scribbling in the notebooks, they even had a tape recorder out to catch everything she was saying. Every minute, every second waiting for James to come was agony

"JAMIE JAMIE JAMIE JAMIE JAMIE JAMIE!" coughing she continued to shriek and cry, but no one paid any mind. Finally turning her head and tilting it like a possessed doll she moved her way towards Halla in an awkward gate and cracked a deranged smile at him, "YOU know my Jamie, don't you?" her huge eyes got even bigger as she nodded, "YOU know my Jamie, right? He is…" her arm went up in the air to signal 'big' and she nodded rapidly, "yes he is…! You know how to get my JAMIE you know, you do!" nodding she pointed at Halla and cocked her head, "He knows…he knows, my Jamie darling knows he KNOWS HE KNOWS HE KNOWS HE DOES! CALL MY JAMIE I WANT HIM! I WANT JAMES I WANT JAMES I WANT HIM!"

"_BABY Doll! Baby Doll ssshhhh it's okay…" James cooed at four in the morning to the distraught Mindy, who had literally kicked him awake unintentionally during a night terror and was a screaming shaking mess. Elizabeth lay in her basinet so Mindy didn't accidentally pop her while James just shushed Mindy like a baby and cradled her in his massively sculpted arms._

"_I-I-I-"_

"_Ssssshh…" whispering in her ear he shook his head and kissed her temple, "I love you I love you, Baby Doll I do so fucking much…"_

_Mindy didn't answer, just sat there despondent still trembling over the nightmare of something incomprehensible before craning her neck to face James with those viper eyes he could have sworn glowed in the dark. _

"_I'm here, see?" kissing her lips he nodded and curled long fingers around her neck, "I love the shit out of you, alright? I love you and I'm here to protect you from any boogey man that may-"_

_Her lips pouted and she shook her head at him childishly, "No Oogey…" she mouthed it out for him, "MAN…" his lips pouted and his brow furrowed, "Oogey LADY!"_

"_Boogeylady?" frowning he glanced around them and shook his head reassuringly, "Baby Doll there's no Boogey-people here at all…" she frowned that he was denying her accusation, "And you wanna know why?" he waited for her to nod like a toddler at him, "Because they know if they think they can touch a hair on your head I'll finish them just for the thoughts. I love my Baby Doll more than anything in the world and she is just so special to me."_

_A slow smile spread across her face and she nodded, sniffling and swallowing hard before leaning in and kissing him into the bed. They kissed until her mouth hurt followed by an immense amount of lovemaking._

…

James rushed to St. Mary's and nearly crashed along the way from being so distraught to be met by a swarm of police, paparazzi, and fans all trying to figure out who exactly stole and made off with Mindy Stratus's baby. The news of Amber's leukemia was out as well, but no one really cared for that. Elizabeth Hayden Lawson's disappearance was the headliner and James was practically held completely liable for Mindy's act of retaliation which consisted of stabbing the negligent nurse in the chest with a scalpel.

Negligence…if the bitch even thought of suing Mindy to get her locked in an asylum that was what James was going to plead.

"JAMES!" the cameramen and reporters shouted his way but it was all one big blur, "JAMES LAWSON!"

"JAMES!"

"WHERE WERE YOU, JAMES? WHERE WERE YOU AS YOUR PREGNANT WIFE AND DAUGHTERS TRAVELLED ALONE?"

"YOU SUCK!"

"JAMES!"

"JAMES!"

"JAMES!"

"YOU'RE A SHIT FATHER!"

"YOU DON'T DESERVE HER!"

"SAY SOMETHING!"

"I'LL say something, mother fucker" James flicked his knife out and went to stab the reporter when three men restrained him and with a scowl in James was led. Police barricades were set up all over the place and James only knew one thing…his daughter was gone. His precious beautiful perfect fucking daughter was gone someone fucking took her. Someone fucking took her and she didn't know how to defend herself she was just a baby…she was just a beautiful fucking baby and someone fucking took her. He couldn't even breathe all he could imagine was what must be running through that beautiful baby's head. What if she cried for him and he wasn't there?

"JAMES!" that was Mindy. She had bolted through the hallways beating people away from her before launching into his arms and screaming crying into his chest, pressing desperate kisses all over him and once he saw Lammy clenched in her fist he completely lost it and broke down in her arms.


	13. Chapter 13

**Cathy** and **Esha Napoleon**: Great chapter! **jadeMK11**: It's negligence to the highest degree and it's sickening. And thank you. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: No they don't. Bastards *kicks them*

…

_James smiled as he watched Mindy sleep with Elizabeth cuddled on her chest. It was late and he really needed to go to sleep himself but at the moment he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was content with watching his wife and baby daughter sleep. He could watch them all night long and be perfectly happy doing it. He lived and breathed for his family; every single one of them he would kill and die for without hesitation. But these two…these two were different. It wasn't something that was intentional. It didn't mean he loved any of the others any less. Mindy was his wife so of course she was held in a different regard from the kids. This tiny woman had captured his heart and drove him wild in ways he couldn't even begin to describe. He needed her and clung to her desperately and it was okay. There was no shame and nobody to tell him to knock it off because he was "being more annoying than a chick". He could need her all he wanted because she needed him too. She was his Baby Doll and he was her Jamie and it was all just so fucking perfect._

_Elizabeth yawned and snuggled even more against Mindy's chest, which just made him melt into a giant pile of goo. Even though he considered all of Mindy's kids to be his own he had just a huge attachment to Elizabeth. Biologically she was his first and only daughter and he fell so hard for her the instant he held her in his arms for the first time. She was just so fucking perfect that he couldn't even imagine how he had any part in making her. She had the blonde hair and blue eyes from Mindy's Polish heritage but she did look like him and clearly had his personality. Not everyone thought that was such a great thing but he didn't care. He adored her and wanted to just give her everything he could give her plus a lot more than that. For twenty three years he thought he was done having children but here she was, his little angel. He couldn't adore her more if he tried._

_As if she sensed what he was thinking about, Elizabeth opened her eyes and cooed at him. "Aw, Lizzie Bear." He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose. "I love you Lizzie Bear. I love you very very much."_

_Elizabeth cooed again before letting out a loud squeal that woke up Mindy. "Da da da!"_

James sniffled and buried his face into Mindy's neck, hiding himself behind her long mane of raven hair. They were now in Amber's hospital room with one of the police officers, who was supposed to be talking with them about Elizabeth's disappearance. It was hard to get anything out of the distraught couple though. Mindy had attached herself to James and absolutely refused to let him go. She wouldn't even take her head away from his chest unless it was to give him more kisses. And he was holding on to her for dear life, clinging to her like nothing that anyone else there had ever seen. Given the size difference between the two it was like he was holding an actual baby doll instead of his wife. He wasn't speaking either, just alternating between crying and staring blankly at Lammy.

"Mr. Lawson?" Another person had come into the room and motioned for the other officer to leave. "Mr. Lawson? I'm Detective Campbell, can I talk to you real quick?"

James didn't respond at first. He just kept himself buried in Mindy's neck and alternated between kissing her and whispering "I'm sorry" to her over and over again. His heart felt like it had been shattered and scattered all over the place. While he was off recovering from being a stupid selfish fuck she had been all alone here. All alone…he felt so horrible that he just wanted to die. She had been all alone to try to deal with this shit and Elizabeth had been snatched because he hadn't been there. He had failed not only his wife but his daughter too and he just wanted to fucking die over it.

"Mr. Lawson?" Detective Campbell prompted again. "I know this is difficult for you but I need to talk to you right now."

James finally glanced up at the bald man in his fifties who was staring gently at him. What did this guy know? He couldn't fucking know anything. Elizabeth was off with some stranger…alone…scared… "My wife got this for her here at this hospital," he said, holding up Lammy to show him off. "Elizabeth loves him. She never goes anywhere without him." He looked at his daughter's well loved and well chewed toy and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "She takes him everywhere. We can't even wash him unless she's sleeping because she notices, you know? You can't take him away for a single second or she knows and she gets so upset." He shook his head worriedly. "She's gonna know there's no Lammy soon if she don't know already and she's gonna be so upset. She needs her Lammy you don't understand-"

"Mr. Lawson…" Detective Campbell took a deep breath and decided to just go ahead and talk and see if anything sunk into the distraught man's skull. "My people are doing everything that we can to find her. We're checking the surveillance tapes and we're talking to the people here at the hospital-"

"They let her get taken," James snapped, clutching Mindy and Lammy more tightly. "They did they let her go. Our baby needs us she shouldn't have been given to a fucking nurse! She should have been allowed to stay with Baby Doll! What if she's crying for us right now? Or Lammy? We're not there and we're always there for her she's gonna be so scared and what if she's hurt…?"

Detective Campbell glanced towards the door, where Dr. Halla was waiting nearby in case they needed (and chose to) give Mindy some sedatives. He was almost thinking they were going to have to give some to James just to get him to settle down. "Mr. Lawson," he turned back to face the couple and tried to look as reassuring as possible "given your wife's celebrity status and the rather large income you both possess, the most likely reason that she was taken was because of money. They'll be looking for a ransom-"

James buried his face back into Mindy's neck so the detective couldn't see the tears that were leaking out of his eyes once again. Of course that was the first reason people would think of. Some person chasing money…but what if that wasn't it? What if it was some nutcase who wanted her for other reasons? Or what if the person who had done the kidnapping wasn't the mastermind behind it all? What if they were working for someone else and they had her now and they were taking her away where she would never be found or what if they were killing her? What if it had been some cult that was looking to make her a ritual sacrifice? That happened, he knew it did.

"-but we will do everything in our power to find-"

"What if they're in on it?" James asked, looking back up and glaring at the detective with red puffy eyes. "The entire hospital? What if they're in on it? It could be a plot. A giant plot. With conspiracies."

"Mr. Lawson please-"

"Maybe it could be just that cunt nurse but what if it's not? What if it's the whole lot of them?"

"That's why we're talking to them now-"

"What good is that going to do?" James got up to his feet and carried Mindy around as he began to pace around frantically. "They're not going to admit anything!"

"They said they would watch her," Mindy said, making James stop and both him and Detective Campbell. "They did, they said they would. I didn't want to let her go but they made me and when I came back out she was gone. They lied, they didn't watch her at all."

"See?" James would have gone over there and shook the damn detective if he hadn't been holding Mindy. "They said they would watch her and they LIED! They fucking LIED!"

Detective Campbell stood up, feeling very very small compared to James. He himself was about six feet tall but James dwarfed him by almost a full foot. That was not a laughing matter at all, especially considering the state he was in now. "We will investigate every member of this hospital if that's what it takes," he assured them. "But I need to know if either of you've noticed anyone following you around lately? Someone out of the ordinary?"

James looked at Mindy, who shook her head. "Just the paparazzi," she said in a small voice. "They always follow us."

"What if it was one of them?" James asked, looking back and forth between Mindy and Campbell. "Or someone pretending to be them? We wouldn't have noticed anything weird if they blended in."

"And Miss Stratus-"

"Lawson," Mindy snapped. "I'm Mrs. Lawson." She nestled her head directly underneath James's chin so it could rest on her.

"Mrs. Lawson," Campbell corrected "you've had problems with stalkers in the past?"

"But none that we knew of now," James interjected. "We haven't had any problems."

"Unless they were bidding their time…" Campbell studied James carefully as he continued to zip around the room in a completely agitated state. "Mr. Lawson, do you yourself have anyone that's been bothering you lately? Maybe someone who may mean to cause you harm?"

James almost snapped and asked if they hadn't already gone over this question when he stopped. "Mark."

Mindy's eyes widened. "Jamie…"

"Who's Mark?" Campbell prompted.

"My ex," James answered. "I left Baby Doll for him…got tired of his cheating ass…he's tried to get me back and cause problems. He tried to cause problems just yesterday and tried to make it seem like I called him but I didn't. I really didn't. He could have…" He shook his head. "I don't want him here. Keep him away from here and keep him away from our house."

The door opened and another officer poked his head into the room. "Detective, can we see you for a minute?"

"Sure." Campbell excused himself and left the room, leaving James to sit back down and bounce his legs impatiently because he didn't know what else to do. Mindy was hugging him as tightly as she could and he was clinging to her even more right back, needing her even more than ever before.

"I love you Jamie," she told him, petting his face and nodding frantically. "I do I love you."

"I love you more," he claimed.

"No no no," she shook her head. "I love you more."

His response to that was a kiss, his lips trembling as he did so. "Baby Doll…" He petted her hair frantically and sniffled loudly. He caught sight of Amber once again and he shook his head in denial and buried his face back into her neck so he could sob once more. He knew just how bad cancer could rip people apart before it finally killed them. He had watched Annabelle waste away and die and though he wouldn't ever verbally say anything about her and that situation because he knew Mindy's feelings, those memories were making him very afraid for Amber's sake.

"Jamie!" Mindy exclaimed, petting his face frantically. "Jamie no! Don't cry…"

James couldn't stop though. He just cried harder because he didn't know what else he could do. One daughter was laying just a couple feet away from him, horribly sick and the another was who the fuck knew where and there was nothing he could really do about either situation. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry…"

…

Elizabeth cried loudly and looked around the unfamiliar room with wide fearful eyes. "Lammy!" she yelled, once again calling for her precious stuffed animal like it was just going to show up and jump right into her arms. "LAMMY!" Lammy still didn't come. She began to bawl hysterically because she ALWAYS had Lammy. Always always always. "DA DA DA!" She wanted her daddy and she wanted him now. "MA MA MA!" Or her mother too. Either or both would work just fine for her.

The door opened and a man who was not her daddy came into the room. "Are you crying again?" he asked impatiently. He was a short man, not even over the six foot mark and he was balding and slightly pudgy. He had on these thick framed glasses that took up the majority of his face and he had a camera in his hands.

"DA DA DA!" Elizabeth balled up her fists and continued to scream her head off.

"Daddy is not here." He handed her a bottle filled with milk because he didn't have anything else to give her yet. "We discussed this al-"

Elizabeth chucked the bottle as hard as she could, hitting him square in the face with it. He stopped and scowled, actually balling up his fist for a second before shaking his head. "Fine. I guess you're not hungry." He snapped a picture of her tear stained face before walking away, leaving her to scream to the point that she passed out in exhaustion.


	14. Chapter 14

**Cathy **and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: L poor girl is not in a good situation at all. **jakeMK11**: James and Mindy would be all over that if he was the one to do it. Nobody messes with their kids and gets away with it. Absolutely nobody.

…

"James…" Mindy sighed and shook her head while pressing kisses to his temple and trying not to cry herself. She had to be strong for him; her being a girl was over. "Jamie darling, please…" sniffling she kissed his forehead harder and pressed the bridges of their noses together as lovingly as she could, "I love you, darling, yes I do…I love you…nothing is your fault my darling I love you so much"

James's lips pouted and he couldn't respond, he couldn't think, he couldn't breathe…his face was completely rested against his wife's while staring at Amber's lanky form in the bed. She hadn't woken up from her drug-induced sleep yet and he didn't even know what to say when she woke up. Did he let her know he was so sorry for all the things he'd done or did he carry on as normal so she wouldn't be upset? He had no idea, he couldn't think about it. Not with Lizzie Bear gone from him he couldn't breathe without Mindy doing it for him. At this point his heart was beating through her. It beat for her anyway and now she was carrying on for him and he felt horrible for allowing himself to get this way.

"Dr. Halla?" Mindy lifted her eyes and frowned at the psychiatrist seated across the room, who raised his eyebrows and gave her a warm nod since he knew her well enough to be family, "Doesn't this place have surveillance?"

Furrowing his brow he nodded along and pouted his lips, "I don't see why they wouldn't…"

"Can we see?" she meant the cameras, but Halla knew what she was talking about. Aside from James he knew every thought which trailed through her head and why she thought that way. James didn't move from her arms as Halla nodded and stood from his seat.

"That's really smart of you, Min, I wouldn't have thought of that"

"It's what I do" she sighed before rubbing James's back maternally and kissing the top of his head, "Come on, babyboo" she kissed his longish straight dark hair and ran her fingers through it lovingly, "we gotta walk to security booth to find footage of the fucker who has baby"

Completely despondent he stood while holding her like a baby and reluctantly looked at Amber, knowing damn well Mindy didn't want to leave her alone in that room but there was nothing they could do.

"Go" the voice from the door made his eyes widen in surprise as Taylor stood with Chelsea, Thorn, and Scarlett in her hands and a collection of Amber's favorite movies, "We've got things from here"

"How did you…?" James's glazed-over face croaked when she shrugged and motioned towards the cops and reporters positioned everywhere outside the room.

"When Mommy is Mindy Stratusfear news travels fast" she shrugged meekly when Mindy leaned forwards and kissed her forehead, cupping Taylor's skinny face in her hand before leaving with James. For a fleeting moment the tall blonde closed her eyes and absorbed that caress before James left silently with her, and a sinking darkness entered the room the moment Mindy left.

…

"See…" the security guard pointed to the camera and showed the couple as Loughanne kept the carrier behind her as Mindy was gone and James felt sick just looking, "that shouldn't have been allowed right there. That…" he shook his head in disdain as James quickly became sick.

There she was, his beautiful daughter still chewing on her Lammy as the nurse sat at her desk not paying attention. He was sick, he was fucking sick watching the last moments of his baby and Mindy knew it, so she petted his face and kissed his temple repeatedly because she loved him. She fucking loved him so much and seeing him this way was killing her. She died twice today, so all this was doing was burying her deeper into the earth.

Mindy's stiffly watched the stout pigheaded balding guy enter the frame and the guard paused it right there.

"There's our guy…" he nodded at the couple and James's breathing heightened.

"Are there any other angle cameras?" Mindy asked hopefully to get a look at his face, but the guard shook his head and exhaled disappointedly.

"That's the only one"

"Oh fucking hell" shaking her head Mindy groaned and tried with everything she could to study this man from the glasses which stuck out behind his ears, the comb-over bald spot, the dark pullover jacket and khaki pants, stout, pudgy…as an artistic genius she'd already burned his image into her head and if James were in his right mind he'd be doing the same.

Now came the part where James buried his face in her neck and said nothing…the dead bastard lifted the carrier and much to Mindy's horror Elizabeth was snagged so suddenly she stopped chewing on Lammy's face and dropped him. Immediately she screamed and started to cry, but that fucking nurse didn't turn around. She just kept on doing whatever the fuck she was doing as Lammy just lied there on the ground. A single tear streamed down Mindy's face and the rest was James…he heard the baby screaming on the footage and that was just more than he could bear. He sobbed loudly into his wife's neck, not caring or acknowledging who was around to hear because he couldn't take it. His only perfect daughter was gone and here they were watching it happen—WATCHING it happen…as in doing nothing about it.

"It's fucking sick" the security guard shook his head when Mindy frowned and tried to shake off what she just saw as best she could.

"Switch to the doors…I wanna see what car he got into."

"And what?" the guard raised his eyebrows at her, "You think you can find him?"

"I'll do what I want" she nodded before cringing at the sound of Campbell entering the room and James's hold on her tightened instinctively. It was something he did which made her giggle; tighten his hold on her whenever another man was present. He loved her that much though…thinking he may lose her if the wrong person looked at her.

"Did you get any plates?" he asked the security guard and Mindy could only shake her head as the man loaded into the dark green sedan with Elizabeth in the backseat and left the lot all by himself.

"No satanic cult" she kissed James's temple to try and get a ghost of a smile from him before pinching his cheek, "You were just overreacting Jamie-darling, it is just some ugly man and we will find and kill him"

"Kill him…" James's voice trailed off before looking her in the eye and shaking his head, "KILL him? You think I'm going to KILL him, Baby Doll?"

"Well…" sniffling and shrugging she nodded and kept her voice down in case the detective and security guard were listening, "yes."

"Kill isn't the correct term, Baby Doll, no…" he said darkly before shaking his head and glaring at the screen and looking up at the guard, "And you didn't see this while it was happening?"

"Well…" the guard frowned and shrugged, "no…"

At first James nodded along, a dangerous glint forming in the back of his eye before he dropped Mindy to the floor like a newborn giraffe before lunging for the guard.

"JAMES!"

Campbell's eyes widened as James dug a hand into the guard's throat and choked the life out of him while pounding away at his face.

"MY DAUGHTER MY FUCKING DAUGHTER YOU LET HIM TAKE MY FUCKING DAUGHTER MY DAUGHTER!" James roared while pummeling away at his head, unaware of Mindy lunging to grab his right arm to try and coax him out of it all.

"JAMES STOP!" she shrieked and desperately tried to prevent the lawsuit from happening when he barred his teeth and swung the arm directly behind him, smacking Mindy right in the face and she went flying backwards into the near wall. Cranium collided with sheet rock and down she went, a waterfall of raven spilling all over her head as she hit the ground.

"HEY!" Campbell knelt in front of the grounded young woman and tried to pull her up when she muttered something incomprehensible and shook her head frantically at his touch.

"Don't touch me don't touch me don't you FUCKING touch me!" shrieking she kicked and flailed to get out of his grasp when Halla hooked an arm around Mindy's and eased her up.

"C'mon, Min…"

"NO!"

"Hey!" Halla kept her chin on him and gave her a stern look stop it.

"Jamie" her head turned to the right and blood trickled from her mouth though she couldn't tell. James was too busy being ripped off the guard by six different police officers.

"Not now" Halla told her firmly though she didn't like that answer at all.

"Now now" she nodded at him and tried to lunge for James, "Now now now I need my Jamie I want my Jamie my Jamie needs me now please"

"Min…" frowning gently Halla ran a hand over her hair to smooth it and shook his head, "Not this time…"

"NO!" barring her teeth she lunged towards where James was dragged off but Halla had to shake his head and deny her.

"Miranda…" pulling out a small syringe he injected her arm and she went limp, dropping into Halla's arms so he could carry her (with assistance) out of the room and into a private little nurse's station where she sat twiddling her thumbs but saying nothing. Halla sighed and ran a hand through his hair while placing his hands on the sides of Mindy's knees, "Will you talk to me now?"

The disconcerting cock of the head to the side was her response to that.

"Miranda…" he tried again when she shrugged and just began swaying waywardly, clamming up on him and he knew it. She did this whenever she had something to repress or hide, like James walloping her like that. Her schizophrenic head was already pretending it never happened especially considering the way he didn't say a word about it. A victim of battered woman syndrome all this was normal to her; she didn't even notice the fact that James had practically beaten her face in and given her a concussion. An ice pack was resting on the back of Mindy's head by a nurse to make sure she didn't pass out and have a concussion.

"WHAT?" she shouted without looking at him, rocking back and forth impatiently while anxiously fiddling with her wedding ring, "Where's Jamie?"

Halla didn't have the heart to answer her, but nobody in the hospital wanted James anywhere near her, clearly it was a lethal combination.

"Miranda…"

The ice-blue viper eyes snapped to his.

"Has your husband raised a hand to you before?"

Immediately she shook her head, giving the most schizo response on the planet and there was nothing he could really do about it.

"Why?"

She shrugged and began in a sing-song voice, "I'll never tell…"

"Why?"

"I'll never te-ell…! I'll never te-ell…!" smirking victoriously at him she began to sway and rock back and forth.

"Miranda" he exhaled calmly and shook his head at her. Pathetic. Everything about her was completely pathetic and she relied on James for everything. That clearly wasn't the first time he hit her and sure, he was in a tense moment but he didn't even acknowledge just whacking his wife like that when she was trying to protect him from killing someone…and now she'd clammed up like a good silent wife and wasn't going to say jack shit to protect him. When married to the other gem she was so quick to spill the beatings he gave her it was ridiculous, but Mindy was so in love with James she didn't find anything he did wrong. It was HER fault.

"I got in his way. Tell him I am sorry."

"No" he shook his head when her teeth barred and she hugged herself, sniffling and violently beginning to convulse while searching for James.

"Why not I want my Jamie I want him I do I want him I want him PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I want him please!"

"NO Miranda!"

"JAMES!" sobbing loudly and kicking her short stubby legs in the air she barred her teeth and whined, "JAMES! JAMES JAMES JAMES PLEASE! I WANT JAMIE!"

Halla let her scream and kick around begging for him before readying a syringe to knock her out.

"Do you realize what a mistake it is you're making?"

"NO! I WANT JAMES! I WANT MY JAMES! PLEASE!"

"I'm sorry"

"PLEASE I'm pregnant!" clutching her lower abdomen she now started whining louder, "I'm pregnant I'm pregnant please let me see my Jamie I want my Jamie now PLEASE now!"

"Miranda…he hit you in the face"

"By ACCIDENT!"

"…he hit you in the FACE!"

"I'm sorry…." Her eyes dropped and she started bawling in front of almost the entire floor of people, "tell him I'm sorry and I love him"

"M-Miranda"

"DO IT!" slipping off the table she curled into a ball and shivered in a corner all by herself, as usual.


	15. Chapter 15

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: The thing is though, now more than ever they need each other. Mindy's shown she's a mess without him and this chapter is gonna show how well James is doing being separated from her. **cathy **and **Esha Napoleon:** Thank you! **jadeMK11**: Yaay for accounts : ) And yeah, James really can't be blamed for doing what he did to the guard. The guard was one of the many negligent people at the hospital that just pretty much let her get taken.

…

"Get these OFF of me!" James yelled as he fought against the handcuffs as hard as he possibly could. Somehow the officers had just barely managed to get some handcuffs on him in order to help restrain him but that was not doing much to help calm him down. He was so angry that his entire body was vibrating. He could still hear Elizabeth screaming in his mind and it was fucking him up horribly. This fucking hospital was so fucking negligent that he wanted to kill every single person that worked there. How the fuck could they let this happen? That fucking nurse blatantly ignored his baby as she screamed as that bastard took her. He hoped that bitch was dead. He hoped Mindy killed her because he couldn't even bear the thought of her being alive. And that fucking security guard…oh how he wanted to fucking find him and rip him apart piece by piece. What the fuck was his problem? If he had just been fucking doing his job he could have stopped this from fucking happening. Oh how he wanted to fucking kill him…

_Of course, if you would have been here yourself instead of being a worthless sack of shit, you could have stopped it. But what else can be expected from you? I mean really_…

"Get these off!" he repeated, trying once again to break the cuffs apart with his brute strength. "Get them off get them off get them off!"

"Mr. Lawson!" Campbell shook his head and held his hand out to motion for the other officers to stay back for the moment. "you need to stop-"

James shook his head and began pacing around the room they had him trapped in. How the fuck could they tell him to calm down. Fucking bastards. They didn't understand, not a single fucking one of them…

He suddenly stopped and looked around. Baby Doll would understand. She would understand perfectly. Elizabeth was just as much hers as she was his. But where was she? He looked all around the room but he didn't see her anywhere. His stomach immediately twisted into a horrible knot. Where was she? Where did she go?

"I know this is difficult for you but you can't act like a wild animal-"

"Where's my wife?" James asked. He didn't give a flying fuck about what was being said to him right now. He was never one for lectures anyway and he was even less of a mood now to hear one. "Where's my wife? Where's my Baby Doll?" He didn't realize it but his hands were trying to wring themselves together despite being cuffed behind his back.

The officers all looked at each other and then at Campbell. "Where is she?" James asked again. He looked around wildly and managed to scare everyone around him even more. "She's tiny" he couldn't do anything with his hands so he attempted to squat down to around her height and about fell over "and she's got long hair" he shook his own hair around "and it's black. Very black."

Campbell shook his head. "We know what she looks like Mr. Lawson."

"Well where is she?" James was twisting his wrists so much that he was starting to rub his skin raw. "Where is she, I need her! Fucking let me out of these things!" He was whining like a child but he didn't care. He didn't want her to see him in these fucking handcuffs. She had enough shit upsetting her already there was no need to add anything else on it.

"Your wife is safe," Campbell told him. "But until you calm down I think it's safer that she-"

"I don't give a FUCK what you think!" James was now trying to rip the cuffs apart so he could throttle this guy. "I want my Baby Doll and I want her now!"

"Mr. Lawson you hit her," Campbell finally said. "When you were pummeling the security guard you hit her. That's why you two were separated."

James shook his head stubbornly. "No. I didn't do that." He had absolutely no recollection of anything of that sort happening and it angered him that they would tell him that shit.

"You did. You were hitting the guard and she tried to stop you. You hit her so hard she went flying. She hit her head-"

"No no no no no." If James could have moved his hands he would have hit this guy to get him to shut the fuck up. "I didn't fucking do that. You're fucking lying. You're fucking lying and I want my wife and I want my daughter! Fucking give them to me right the fuck now!"

There was a knock on the door and two seconds later Halla entered the room. "Where's Baby Doll?" Now James was starting up on him. If anyone would know where Mindy was, it was him. "Where is she? They won't tell me you have to fucking tell me!"

Halla sighed loudly. It was obvious to him that losing his daughter had not broke James's heart but made more than a few screws come loose in his head. Just looking at him it was so obvious and it made him uneasy about the request he was going to have to make for Mindy's mental health's sake. "She's got a bloody mouth and possibly a concussion. You got her good Mr. Lawson."

"No…" James shook his head again. "No I didn't do that! I didn't…" All eyes were on him and they were all telling him that he had in fact done that. He tried to choke out another denial but it died in his throat. He racked his brain and tried to remember doing what he said but he honestly could not even begin remembering doing it. He remembered lunging at the guard and start hitting him and that's when things had gotten fuzzy on him. His rage must have made him blackout for a short while.

_And you hit her again!_ Caroline's voice. Of course it would choose now to speak up. _Congratulations. Doing it twice makes you a woman beater and you remember how much she hated Kane. You've turned into the Crispy Critter isn't that just so fucking funny?_

"Miranda wants to see him," Halla informed Campbell.

Campbell shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. Accident or not, he hit her-"

"And she says she's sorry and that she loves him." Halla clearly did not like relaying this particular message but he did it anyway.

Campbell looked thrown by that. "Wait, what?" He shook his head. "He hit her and she's the one that's sorry?"

"Yes."

"How the hell does that work?"

"Detective, my patient is very mentally ill and she relies on James for everything. Now while I personally agree with keeping him away from her and everyone else for personal safety issues-"

"Fuck you Halla," James growled even though he was still internally dying over the fact that he hit his wife…again.

Halla gave him a sharp look before continuing on. "For Miranda's mental health sake, I have to request that you uncuff him and let me take him to her."

"Can't you sedate her until I'm sure he's-" He suddenly stopped and looked towards the door, as did everyone else. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"

Julie shook her head and stepped more into the room, her eyes directly fixed on to Campbell. "I'm a representative from Mr. Lawson's legal team. His usual lawyer was on a vacation in Hawaii and the plane hasn't landed yet so he sent me over here on his behalf."

Everyone switched to looking over at James and he couldn't even begin to respond. He was too shocked that she was even there. It looked like she had come straight over from a date or something because she had on a red slinky dress and her hair was all straightened and done up to look all nice and shit. _What the hell is she doing?_

"Detective this hospital has clearly been grossly negligent and it's absolutely appalling." Uh oh. Julie sounding this professional never meant anything good for the person she was talking to. "Quite frankly, I would advise the family to move their daughter Amber Rose to another hospital before they allow something to happen to her as well."

"And what does this have to do with me exactly?" Campbell asked.

Julie barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Detective, I'm sure you're good at your job. But when someone like Dr. Halla tells you what's best for their patient-their PREGNANT and SEVERELY mentally ill patient-don't you think it's NEGLIGENT to not go with what they clearly know better than you?"

Detective Campbell tried to stutter out a response but Julie wasn't listening. She snapped her fingers at one of the other officers. "Uncuff him. Now."

"I..I.." The officer got his keys out of his pocket but he was clearly afraid to even approach James.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Julie snatched the keys right out of his hand and uncuffed James herself. "There you go." She handed the handcuffs off to the officer and went right after James, who was already bolting from the room as fast as he could. "Come on Halla!"

Halla shook his head and followed Julie and James, eventually taking the lead because James didn't actually know where Mindy was being kept. "Are you sure you should have talked to those officers like that?" he asked Julie.

Julie shrugged. "From what I was hearing there was no time to be nice." She looked at James, who was compulsively wringing his hands together. "Finding Elizabeth is what's important. If he and Mindy need each other then just let them be together. Elizabeth is what's important." That was the only reason she was even there. She didn't want to be around Mindy and she still had a bit of resentment for James because he let a tiny little bitch whip him and control his life but this wasn't about that anymore. She had heard about what had happened to Elizabeth and she knew that James would be falling apart and out of what little leftover loyalty she had left for him she came to see if she could help here and maybe figure out a way to help out in a way the cops couldn't. Elizabeth needed everyone she could to help try to find her and Julie would just feel like a shitty person if she at least didn't try to help out.

James barely heard anything that the two of them were saying. He was too busy rubbing his wrists and chewing on his lower lip to the point that it started to bleed. His heart was pounding so hard inside of his chest that he could barely stand it. He needed to see Mindy so very very badly. He needed her even more than he usually did but he was scared. What if she hated him now? They had been having so many problems and things had been so delicate and what if he just went and made everything worse? He could barely even stomach the thought but it absolutely refused to go away. It haunted him, laughing at the fear that was gripping him.

"James," Julie said, letting out a long breath as they got closer and closer to the room Mindy was being kept in. "You guys will get her back. This man won't be able to hide forever."

No, he fucking wouldn't. James couldn't even begin to describe what he was going to do to the man. Killing him wouldn't be good enough. No, he was going to do something way WAY beyond that. That was a fucking guarantee.

Julie finally stopped and hung back as Halla took James the rest of the way to the room, knowing that she wouldn't be welcomed around Mindy and not really caring to even giving it a shot. She saw their relationship as dangerously co-dependent and beyond obsessive but they didn't give a shit and she had learned a long time ago that they weren't ever going to change. They were how they were and the rest of the world be damned. _And here we go…_ she thought to herself as James went into the room Halla pointed out. _In a three…two…one…_

"JAMIE!"


	16. Chapter 16

**Cathy** and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: If Julie showed herself to Mindy, she wouldn't be happy to see her at all. Julie though, isn't even going to put herself in that situation. She's staying way in the background on this one. **jadeMK11**: At the moment it's a good thing considering she got James out of the cuffs and headed back to Mindy. If she and Mindy came face to face things would get a lot more messy.

…

Mindy had shrieked and pounced onto James the moment he walked in the door, momentarily incapacitating him her arms wrapped around him so tight.

"JAMIE Jamie Jamie Jamie Jamie DARLING I LOVE you Jamie I MISSED you, I did I miss you I miss you I am sorry I am SORRY my beautiful darling-" Mindy sobbed into his neck and all he could do was choke back tears himself because her mouth was busted open. Her beautiful plumped lips were busted and clearly she looked woozy…but she masked it all so well.

"Baby Doll…!" inhaling sharply he doubled over and began kissing her ice-wet raven hair and nestling into the crook of her neck, "I'm so sorry, Baby Doll I'm SORRY please Baby Doll I am so FUCKING sorry please please please-"

"I love you darling Jamie please I'm sorry I'm sorry" staring wall-eyed at Halla, Campbell, and cops in the doorway Mindy frowned and hugged James even closer, tightening her legs around his waist and kissing the side of his head before growling at the doctors, "What did you DO to him?"

"Miss Stratu-" Campbell tried when Mindy nearly lunged out of James's arms while snapping her teeth.

"LAWSON!"

"M-Mrs. Lawson…" he restated nervously at that wild glaze over the volatile woman's face and observed the way she coddled James like he was one of her infants, "conditions weren't safe for you"

"I WAS IN HIS WAY AND YOU KNOW IT!" she shrieked before barring her teeth and shaking her head with a scowl, "I WAS IN HIS WAY!"

"NO" James shook his head and kissed her to the point that she clamped her legs around him and dug her fingers through his hair.

"Jamie darling I do not CARE I love you yes I do" nodding and rubbing their noses together she glided her tongue against his…and for him time stopped. It had been so long since he'd felt that all his thoughts obliterated and the world melted away to the two of them. She would make everything better, she was his lifeline. The rush of blood to the head from every loving stroke of her tongue drove him mad because he wanted this. No fighting, arguing, or screaming…just love for him. He did want her, he wanted her in ways he couldn't bear think of because he felt so guilty with Elizabeth gone. Every fiber of his being wanted to hold her in his arms and make love to her until he physically ran out of breath and then some, but he couldn't even breathe on his own anymore unless Elizabeth was back in his possession. He did return her tongue kiss though, using the excuse that he was stealing oxygen from her to keep breathing so he wouldn't feel bad. That was his Baby Doll and he hurt her, he couldn't even function right knowing he hit her like that.

"Baby Doll I'm sorry" kissing her neck now he whispered lightly into her ear, "I'm sorry I'm so fucking sorry"

"Sssshhh" shaking her head Mindy placed a finger to his lips and whispered into the shell of his ear, "don't talk like that…you know I would die for you Jamie darling…I love you…I love you I love you I love you…"

"I'm" pressing their foreheads he kissed hers and floated a loving kiss to her lips while trying to ignore everyone just staring at them, "so fucking sorry I never-"

"I gotta pee" she nodded at him with big eyes, confusing the hell out of him until he gave her a nod and kissed her forehead while facing the officers.

"I need to take her to the bathroom…" he told them all flat-out, kissing Mindy's head before carrying her towards the single-person restroom, opening the door and closing them in innocently when her fingers dug into his shoulders and his back hit the wall hard.

"Jamie…" running a hand down his throat her lips latched to the soft skin and trailed down his chest.

"Baby Doll" he croaked when the hands quickly unbuttoned his jeans and slid inside under the fabric, "Baby Doll Baby Doll"

Kissing his throat more and finally his lips again her fingers wrapped around his cock and she shook her head at him, "Keep quiet" kissing him again she nodded and pressed her thumb along the slit at the tip, loving the panting gasps which were escaping his lips and kissing him harder. "I love you" was whispered against his lips while slowly pumping the base of his cock and kissing away each sharp breath from him.

"Ba-Baby Doll" he shook his head when she wrapped the hand tighter and kissed him so deeply he had no choice but to surrender and give into what his body was screaming to allow happen. He got hard in her hand, in fact he got so hard from her touch he was thrusting as she sped faster and harder. His cock was massaged between her fingers as she stroked and in no time he panted and completely covered her hand in his warm seed, which she made a show of licking off.

"I love you" she sighed before kissing him until his heart rate dropped and he just stared in astonishment at his cock sitting there in her hand. It all happened so fast he couldn't even react, but he missed her and he needed it desperately.

…

"Look…he got in a green…fuckin'…" Mindy drummed her fingers on the desk surface in Amber's relocated room at the MountainView Hospital right in Vegas, "Corolla…I want plates run and checked on every owner male OR female of a green fuckin' Corolla"

"He may have stolen it" Campbell reminded her as she sat in James's lap nodding along silently at her shot-down request, "are you staying in the city, Mrs. Lawson?"

Mindy's brow furrowed at that, "What do you mean…exactly…in English by that?"

"Well I mean…" he pointed across the room at Amber playing Kitten Canon on her baby pink Macbook Pro propped up by a fortress of pillows, "with a sick kid and all I would only imagine you moving to where the best possible doctors are"

James twitched uncomfortably at that…there was no way Mindy could go anywhere not with Lizzie Bear missing there was no way she'd leave him—

"Houston"

James's stomach dropped the moment those words left her lips.

"University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is the best treatment center in the country"

"Damn…" was all Campbell could say to that with wide eyes, "Do you have any idea how long the waiting list to get into that joint is-"

"I am Mindy fucking Stratus" Mindy said with a tight jaw, "Not only is Amber admitted, but she has a special room just for her and she is getting radiation and chemo as soon as we get in."

Amber gulped and gripped her hair.

"Texas?" James's stomach dropped, "Why Texas what the hell is in Texas?"

"My daughter has cancer" was all she said to James bitterly before speaking to Campbell once more, "You will have to deal with my husband once my daughter and I leave"

"By YOURSELVES?" James's eyes widened when Mindy shrugged and shook her head.

"I would invite you but our daughter was fucking hijacked and my oldest has cancer. You have to stay here or come with us if maybe somehow we get a lead in Texas"

"YOU know who lives in that state, Baby Doll!"

"I don't give a fuck either" she shrugged apathetically, "Jamie darling you HAVE to look for Lizzie Bear and I HAVE to get my child treated before I am digging two fucking graves."

"Thanks Mommy" Amber called cheekily from the bed, making Mindy turn and shoot her the finger before sticking her tongue out and making a funny face.

"Do you think you can carry the mast by yourself?" Campbell tried to ask but James was too worked up again to breathe. The one person he needed through this more than anything was Mindy and she was leaving with Amber to fucking Texas…Texas. They were in Nevada. What the fuck was wrong with Nevada? The only thing he knew about Texas was that Mark lived there and quite honestly Mark was the last person he wanted to see.

"Baby Doll no" James shook his head though clearly Mindy was not going to buy that anytime soon, "I can't let you, you're pregnant"

"Jamie…" pinching the bridge of her nose she sighed, "Cooper is gonna come with me it will all be fine"

"NO!" that made her twitch out yet again and just sit there taking it, "BABY DOLL just…" running a hand through his hair he choked up and shook his head, "Please…I need you"

"Jamie darling and I need you more than you will EVER know you are my life and you know it" she kissed his nose, "I will miss you like fucking crazy, but maybe when you have the baby you can come to Texas and visit us"

"How long are we talking about you being gone for here?" James panicked when Mindy frowned and pointed to Amber's bed.

"Until her blood work comes back clean…and stays that way."

…

"So WHOA wait a minute here!" Taylor clamped a hand in her long blonde hair and followed Cooper around the house, "You're going to TEXAS with Mom?"

"Yeah" Cooper tossed a blow-dryer in his bag and turned to lean on the doorframe, "Dad has to look for the baby and…"

"You want to go with her" Taylor finished the sentence, knowing him all-too well for this, "I heard Hurricane on the radio today"

"You WHAT?" Cooper's eyes widened when Taylor pouted her lips and nodded.

"It was the Kanye West version but yeah…I heard it…it's really damn good from your voice to Mommy's background vocals and piano to Kanye's little verse…it was amazing I cried when I interpreted the lyrics"

"Hah don't thank me…" Cooper shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck lightly, "that was all Mommy."

"She wrote it for you" Taylor nodded while smiling softly, "Just in case you didn't know"

"No no, I did" Cooper nodded with a gulp, "I knew alright. I-"

"I want you to be careful" a sigh and she shifted her weight in his doorway, "I know you still love her…"

Cooper stared at her with wide eyes and Taylor nodded along a bit stiffly, "It's not hard to figure out. But for your sake PLEASE try and curb that…she sometimes doesn't realize what she's doing. Mommy already told me if there was a way to totally get away with it she'd fuck you again"

"What do you think?" purposely trying to change the subject to cover his own ass Cooper pulled a rather sexy picture of Mindy in a gray tank top which cut off below her chest and revealed her entire slenderized middle along with low-riding black pants with a handcuff belt…and her lengthy raven hair was photoshopped blue on top with blonde streaks, keeping a chunky layer of black underneath.

Studying the picture for a moment in shock Taylor's brow furrowed in confusion, "You're dyeing Mommy's hair BLUE?"

"Trust me" he nodded and placed the picture down for her to see better, lifting the containers of dye and loading it into his bag as well, "I have hair like a mood ring…I know what colors work and Mom totally can-"

"Oh I know she can" Taylor studied the picture Cooper clearly worked very hard on with Adobe Photoshop in his Macbook before nodding, "She looks fucking bangin' if you ask me…" she frowned, "but Dad"

"Dad's got bigger shit to fry our sister is gone" Cooper reminded her with raised eyebrows, "I'll take Mommy into it to keep her mind off-"

"And make her an even bigger sex symbol?" Taylor's eyebrow rose, "You think that's smart considering her kids are getting kidnapped as a result of that shit now?"

"No" he shrugged innocently and nodded along, "but if there's one thing I know about Mommy-"

"This all seems like a really sad attempt to make her want you more and I'm telling you she WON'T especially with Mr. Lawson up her ass like this. She's fucking obsessed with him Coop. She won't hurt him because you haven't gotten over her. Yeah, maybe if there was NO WAY she could get caught she'd fuck you more often, but seriously dude you NEED to learn how to be discreet and when the right times are to think with your dick. Amber has CANCER, Coop! Leukemia! I HIGHLY doubt she's using the opportunity as a romantic getaway with YOU of all people"

"Stop being a heinous bitch, will you?" Cooper shook his head when Taylor shrugged with a growl and slapped her thigh.

"And what are we doing about Connor? Being with Mommy and Ambie is the WORST-"

"He's gonna be here with Dad"

"And ME?"

"He shouldn't bother you"

"OH but he will and you know it" she scowled, "What are you gonna do from Texas while you're boning your uncle's wife?"

"He'll be FINE" Cooper rolled his eyes and waved her off, "Don't worry about it"

…

"When are you leaving me?" James replied somberly that night with his head rested on Mindy's shoulder. He sat in a chair with her completely straddled over his waist but it was hard, he couldn't say goodbye for five seconds never mind how long she was insinuating leaving him. He might have to hope maybe somehow the baby ended up in Texas and join her. He couldn't let her go he just couldn't.

A kiss to his lips from above and Mindy kindly shook her head, "Darling, I would never leave you, I love you." Her groin arched forwards into his and it felt amazing. "And we are going in two days"

"DAYS?" he panicked and shook his head, "NO! That's not enough-"

Since the door was closed and Amber was asleep, Mindy pulled open James's jeans and situated herself so she slowly slid onto his hardened cock and they kissed to muffle out the soft moan of being impaled by James's huge cock. Roughly he kept her legs as open as possible before simply slamming himself into her tight wet heat over and over again grunting loudly as he did so. She gripped his shoulders, whined, and moaned for more of him and he pounded harder. She didn't know when this would happen again though if up to her this would be the way they spent the rest of their lives. The harder she rode him the harder he fucked her and that was exactly what she wanted. Nothing in this world had any meaning other than his lovemaking. That was her everything with him, and he was why she breathed. She didn't want to go to Texas and leave him with the Lizzie Bear mask, but what had to be done had to be done.

"Oh Jamie…" the soft moan got his eyes on her and they kissed long and hard.

"Fuck me Baby Doll, come on" he grunted while pounding inside her harder every second, guiding the speed she rode him at and more steam was released as he cummed hard because he fucking loved her and he needed her. The moment she left he was finished and he couldn't let her go. He loved her too fucking much to ever let her go.


	17. Chapter 17

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: It's definitely bad, bad math. It's obvious to pretty much everyone except Cooper, and that's just because he only likes to see what he wants to see. **jadeMK11**: Connor really will be staying home with James and Taylor. Him going down to Texas with Mindy, Amber and Cooper wouldn't work given his relationship with Mindy and Amber. **cathy** and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you!

…

"Jamie!" Mindy cried out as James slid into her, digging her nails into his shirt as he buried his face into her neck. Mindy "needed to pee again" and he had carried her there because "she hadn't wanted to go alone". Their thinly veiled excuses weren't really fooling anyone at all but that really didn't matter to them. Two days. Two fucking days was all they had together. Two days and then she was off to Texas for who knew how long. And he couldn't go with her. He couldn't fucking go with her. Not with Elizabeth gone. Unless he got her back or there was a lead that popped up in Texas he would have to remain behind. That just fucking killed him. It really just fucking killed him to even think about it and he didn't even want to imagine what he was going to be feeling the day she left.

He moved in her slowly at first, giving her some time to adjust to his huge, throbbing need. Deep down, he knew that she HAD to go. Amber's cancer wasn't going anywhere and it couldn't just be put on the backburner. She had to be taken care of now. But just because he knew that didn't mean he could accept it. Not right now, not in his current state of mind. His baby had been ripped away from him and it had taken not only his sanity but it had ripped out his heart and stomped on it. His baby was gone, alone with some stranger and surely scared to death. He could still hear her screaming from the footage of her being taken and it was going to haunt him for the rest of his life. He fucking needed Mindy here now more than ever but she wouldn't stay. She wouldn't. Maybe she would want to but she would go to Texas with Amber and Cooper and do what she had to do and he would have to stay behind and be expected to do what needed to be done as well. And he wanted to be able to do it. He wanted to do it so he could have Elizabeth back in his arms and then they could go to Texas too and be with Mindy but he didn't know how. This wasn't like some movie where he could just march around and kick ass and take names and be like Liam fucking Neeson until he got his daughter back. He didn't even know where to start looking. If he knew, he would look but he didn't. He was just fucking helpless and he hated it so much.

"Ooh fuck Jamie." Mindy wrapped her legs around his waist and squeezed them tightly. "So big and perfect."

He thrust into her harder, rapidly losing track of how many times they had done this. She was throwing him against walls any chance she got and was climbing all over him to get as much as of him as she could before she had to go. And he responded each and every single time, needing her just as much but on the inside it was killing him in a way it normally never did. It helped to remind him that she was going and soon they wouldn't be able to do this like they normally did. Usually he had a hard time going just minutes without her but now he was going to have to go…no, he couldn't bear to think about it. He had to fucking stop this. If he didn't fucking stop he was going to have a total meltdown and he wouldn't stop. Not ever.

He kissed her as deeply as he could as he pounded into her harder. What was making her going even worse was the fact that Cooper of all people would be accompanying her. Cooper…Cooper who still probably wanted her. Who would fuck with her head and take advantage of him not being there and take advantage of her…no, he couldn't fucking stand the thought of that. He wanted to put a stop to that fucking plan before it happened but he didn't know if he could. He didn't want to spend the last days with Mindy fighting and there was also the Mark factor. He didn't know if he was still lurking here in Vegas or if he was back in Texas…right where Mindy was going to be. He would know Mindy was there because it wouldn't be kept a secret. The media would be jumping all over the hospital there the day she arrived and Mark would know and that scared him. He didn't know what state of mind his ex-boyfriend was really in anymore and the only good thing about Cooper was that he still didn't take any of Mark's bullshit. But still, even with that in mind and the fleet of bodyguards that would surely be going with them, James wasn't at ease. If he couldn't go he wanted someone else there. Someone he knew and trusted. It wouldn't make him feel good but maybe it could manage to make him feel a tiny bit better. A tiny bit better would be better than this utter fear and uncertainty.

"Jamie Jamie Jamie!" Mindy cried out as her orgasm overtook her. The feeling of her walls squeezing his cock even more than they normally did and the very sight of her cumming was enough to send him over the edge as well. He cried out her name as he slammed into her one last time, emptying every ounce of himself into her and kissing her neck as he placed his hand over her stomach. Their unborn child…another reason for him to worry about her going off to Texas without him. He remembered all too well how sick she had gotten with Elizabeth and what if that shit started again? He wouldn't be there to take care of her. He was supposed to be there that was his fucking duty as a her husband and he couldn't fucking do it because some dead man walking had stolen their baby.

"I love you James," Mindy said, kissing him and bringing him out of his thoughts at least for the moment.

"I love you more Baby Doll." And he meant it. He fucking meant it even as she claimed that no, she loved him more and they kissed some more, not wanting to let each other go. Not now, not ever.

…

"I come bearing Chinese," Taylor announced as she and the kids walked into Amber's room, carrying sacks of food. They walked in to find Amber, James and Mindy watching a movie (well…Amber and Mindy watching it together and James trying to act like he was watching it). "I figured you guys could use some real food instead of whatever this place is serving."

"Aw, thank you sweetie," Mindy said. She looked back at James. "Wasn't that nice of her?"

He nodded. "Thanks." Truth be told, he was not hungry by any means, even though he hadn't actually ate anything since…well fuck, he couldn't really remember. He was going to have to suck it up now and at least eat some of this stuff because he needed to make sure Mindy ate some as well.

"Yeah, thank you," Amber added. She gave Taylor a thankful smile and Mindy reached over and grabbed her hand so she could give it a squeeze. Amber was being remarkably strong given her situation and James knew that she had to be putting on a front for Mindy. She was a baby but she was an intelligent and more mature than anyone her age had any right being. She knew Mindy still needed to be taken care of and was doing her best to not stress her mother any more than necessary. Maybe a lost cause at this point but she was trying. There had to be points for effort.

"You're welcome." Taylor passed out the food to everyone as Chelsea trotted right over to James and Mindy, snuggling right up to James as he lifted her up and set her on his lap as well. "Daddy," she said happily.

"She's missed you a lot," Thorn said as she and Oxa sat down and Scarlett climbed up on the bed to be with Amber and Tryg sat at James's feet so he could be close to Mindy. "Everything is always "Daddy Daddy Daddy". She don't ever stop, not ever."

"Oh Princess…" James kissed the top of Chelsea's head and bit down on his lower lip as she snuggled up against his chest. Seeing her reminded him of all the times she and Elizabeth always fought over him and it sent a sharp pain straight through his heart. He wanted to cry, wanted to scream but he held it back. He didn't want to but he held it back. Part of him didn't know how he was doing it but he did it. At least he thought he was doing it. Mindy was turning around and giving him a very concerned look. He wasn't fooling her at all.

"Jamie?" His entire body was vibrating and she began petting his face frantically, trying to soothe him as much as possible.

He wanted to lie and assure her he was fine but his voice was stuck in his throat. So he just gave her a kiss on her cheek and clutched her tighter. "I love you," he managed to croak out.

"I love you more," she immediately replied and she kissed him, petting his face and making out with him right there in front of the kids. Amber and Taylor were the only ones who paid any real attention because to the others, that was all just business as usual. They were the only ones that recognized the desperation coming from the couple, James in particular. It was so obvious he was hanging by a thread that they were both immensely concerned what was going to happen when it was time to separate the two of them. Amber knew full well that Mindy and James had never been apart for as long as they were going to have to be real soon. They already called and texted each other obsessively while only apart for a short time and during the entire time of their marriage they had never been apart for a whole night. Not ever-and if James was like this now, Amber felt sorry for Taylor, who was being left behind and would bear witness to his total breakdown.

"Come on Jamie, you have to eat," Mindy encouraged. She took their food from Taylor and let the younger girl take Chelsea so she could situate her at the little table in the room to eat because it would just be easier that way. "Come on, eat this." She used the chopsticks to gather up some orange chicken and put it right by his mouth.

He sighed and reluctantly put it in his mouth, forcing himself to chew it and swallow it with great difficulty. Normally he loved this stuff but he couldn't even taste it properly. It tasted like nothing and made his stomach twist horribly in knots. He forced himself to accept more of what she offered him, ignore how tasteless it was and how much he just wanted to throw it right back up.

"That's it," Mindy encouraged. She kept shoveling food into his mouth, wanting him to eat as much as possible. She was worried about him because once she went to Texas there was not going to be anyone there to feed him. She always fed him and she always sat on his lap when they ate. Who was going to do that when she left? Nobody and it worried her greatly.

As she fed him he opened the carton of food he had been handed and tried to put some of it on his chopsticks so he could feed her as well. But his hands just stopped working on him and he had to forego the sticks and use a fork instead. "Baby Doll…" He held the food up to her mouth, his hand shaking so much that he just about dropped it. Mindy actually had to grab his wrist and hold it steady so she could eat it.

"Thank you Jamie." They fed each other for a few more minutes before he couldn't stand to eat anymore and he tried to get away with just feeding her. She wouldn't let him though and tried to shove even more food into his mouth and he ended up having to kiss her once more, making out with her until his lungs started to burn and his world spun from the lack of oxygen intake.

…

"I'm thinking about taking the twins and Chelsea with me when I go to Texas with Ambie and Cooper."

James stopped his trail of kisses and looked up at Mindy with wide eyes. They were on yet another bathroom trip and that statement just caught him completely off guard. "What?"

"The twins and Chelsea," Mindy said as she petted his hair. "I think I'm going to take them with me and leave Tryg here with you and Taylor."

James kept staring at her, unable to react for quite a few minutes. "You…you don't have to do that," he finally was able to say.

"I don't want you to have to worry about them Jamie."

"But what about you?" James hugged her waist and stared up at her, shaking his head.

"Cooper will help me."

James snorted loudly at that. "That's not what Cooper's going to be interested in, believe me." He nestled up against her stomach and grinded his teeth together roughly.

"Jamie-"

"I want someone else there too," he confessed, closing his eyes to try to block the tears that wanted to escape from him yet again. "If I can't be there yet…" He had to stop and compose himself and she hugged him tighter and petted him as he did so. "Someone should be there to watch your back that I can trust."

"Who Jamie?" Mindy pet his hair even more. "Who is there?" If he was worried about the Mark factor there was nobody that they could use that would just automatically curb him from doing anything. The only person she had ever known that Mark wouldn't fuck with was Kane and he was dead.

James couldn't answer that at first. He honestly didn't know. He didn't exactly have a long list of friends. "I know a certain Texas Rattlesnake that owes me a favor…"

Mindy cringed.

"What?" James asked. "What is it Baby Doll?" In his mind, Steve was the only option that made sense. He lived in Texas, he was tough, he knew Mark's tricks and he would kick Cooper's ass if he got too touchy with Mindy. It sounded all good to him.

"He thinks I'm a virgin," Mindy informed him.

James stared at her once again, not believing what she just said. "But…but…you have kids…"

Mindy rolled her eyes. "He thinks I'm the second coming of Mary or something. I have so many babies but he still believes I'm a virgin. He covers my ears when he curses and hides alcohol from me and he won't let us have phone sex Jamie he won't-"

James moved back up and cut her off with a kiss, which she happily accepted. They could talk about this again in a little bit. He needed her too much and their time together was running out. Every second the clocked ticked by was another wound to what was left of his heart…once it was up he was finished. Completely and utterly finished.


	18. Chapter 18

**jadeMK11**: Yeah, it would have to be big to ask him to do this (though he hasn't ever told me what exactly that favor was). And thank you. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Yes it will. **Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

With a low moan and a tight squeeze of her tiny arms around his broad frame Mindy straddled over James's lap at the edge of their own bed. Literally hours from now Mindy and the girls were leaving for Texas, leaving him behind. The door had been locked and every light in the room had been turned on so they could see just how badly they were going to miss the other. Fully clothed James tangled a hand in her hair and slowly trailed his tongue along her lips before gliding into her willing mouth, caressing the smooth muscle greedily. His throat was dry because this was it, she was leaving tomorrow. It didn't matter that he was swapping spit with her, his throat was dry as a bone with dread. Tiny hips ground into his and he responded immediately, placing his free hand over a large silicone breast and gently kneading it with the movements of his tongue.

Sighing she ground harder and kissed him deeper yet, reaching a hand to clasp over the one kneading her breast and put the other on his delicate face. He was so beautiful. He was so fucking beautiful with those narrow features and high cheekbones it drove her mad because he was all hers. No one else had a Jamie for their own and now she was losing him, it made her sick. When he wasn't looking she vomited and blamed it on morning sickness but she was scared. Losing him was making her crazy and slowly he peeled her black dress over her head to stare at her icy skin in the lacy black pushup bra and thong.

Blindly he kissed her collarbone and floated his lips right on her throat, where he latched his teeth and lightly began to suck the sensitive pale flesh.

"James…" sighing she ran her fingers through the long dark hair and admired how easily the soft strands slipped through her fingers, moaning lightly as the hickey site moved and her fingers worked on unbuttoning the long white button-down he wore. Quickly she worked the sleeves off while keeping his mouth on her neck and admired the network of muscles decorating his beautiful sun-tanned skin. "And you do not do a damn thing for them…" she giggled lightly while kissing his hair and keeping her fingers locked in it, "I love you Jamie Paul, my perfect beautiful darling"

He was in the process of taking off her bra and kissing her breasts but froze. Freezing solid he sucked in a harsh breath and began vibrating uncontrollably.

"Jamie?" ceasing motion she shook her head and tried to touch his face when he shook his head and just ripped her against his hard hot chest, burying his face in her neck and sobbing breathlessly, "OH Jamie no! Jamie no darling no!"

Shivering like a child and shaking his head he refused to move it from the only true safe place in his life, just nuzzling and allowing bitter tears to soak her skin. He didn't say a word, but his heaving breaths and whimpers were beyond audible. Any man would have slaughtered him for it, but no. She kissed his temple and shook her head to get him to stop before finally lifting his chin and crushing her lips to his eagerly.

"Jamie…" beginning to tear up herself she helped him get her bra off before letting him lay her down on their pillows for the last time and kiss her deep into the mattress.

His tongue continued the loving caress against hers before his hands found a way to her breasts, where they were kneaded and brushed against until her nipples became hardened peaks.

"I love you" he told her miserably before moving the black thong string aside and running a single fingertip along the large amount of moisture gathered there just for him, "Baby Doll…" sniffling at how those ice-blue eyes remained locked on his, three long fingertips began to rub the completely saturated area and her back arched.

"James" a moan and his mouth latched onto a single nipple at a time, teasing and kissing while gently rubbing his fingers along her wetness and finally her clit, which brought a hip-bucking motion, "I love you…"

"I love you more" he fucking knew he did and the very way his throat cracked let her know he meant it. Gently scraping her nipples with his teeth, he slid a single finger inside slowly and nearly came undone at just now ready she was for him.

"Mmm James…" looking him dead in the eye she began riding his finger, and it had to be the single most erotic thing he'd ever seen from her. His cock was twitching begging to be freed from its confines but he was too mesmerized by fingering her. Two more fingers were added as he kissed down her stomach and flipped both her short legs over his shoulders, preparing her for what he so desperately needed to do.

"You're so beautiful" he nodded before rubbing his nose against her throbbing swollen heat and pressed a kiss to her clit. It was simple, got her moaning loudly, and moments later he followed up with a tongue kiss and a hard swipe of the tongue.

"James!" sighing and digging a hand in his hair she bit her lip and awaited for him to replace his fingers with his tongue, and right after licking them clean he did so, "Mmmm yes…!" her back arched as he lapped slowly at her wetness, stopping periodically to nibble or suck on her clit when she came hard all over his lips and eager mouth.

"I love you my Baby Doll, I do…" he was so desperate he cleaned her juices while slowly slipping three fingers back in her convulsing core to feel her walls tighten around his fingers as if begging for them to release, "Mmm Baby Doll…" he was so hard at this point it was killing him, so Mindy sat up and pet his hair before easing his mouth away from her arousal and working on his jeans. The hard flesh was pressed so tight against the zipper the moment she freed him and removed his pants she wanted what was hard under his boxers. His cock was begging for contact and to demonstrate he snapped the string of her thong and arched up into her hand the moment she began to stroke the fabric.

"Oh James…" sniffling and crawling forwards she kept riding his fingers while slipping the fabric off his hips to get a full view of his erection, "I love you"

"Baby Doll…" sniffling and trying to keep his clouded eyes from shedding more in front of her he pumped his fingers faster and watched her spine contort from pleasure.

"What?" leaning forwards and brushing her lips against his she begged, "What do you want? Tell me how to touch you…"

"Please" he croaked and leaned up so they could kiss deeply, "stroke me, Baby Doll stroke me so fucking hard…"

Smiling gently she leaned towards his ear and whispered, "I got a better idea…"

Reaching a hand to the side of the bed while kissing his fingers she pulled out the purple strap-on and immediately his eyes were bugging out with anticipation.

"I know" giggling she kissed him and nodded while bending to moisten the dildo by sliding it inside her wet pussy, "it has been too long."

"Baby Doll…" whimpering he moaned and watched her bend to lick the head of his cock and slide her tongue into the slit and really lap the vein underneath more than desperately because it was his favorite. After lathering him up slowly she took his entire cock down her throat and sucked him hard, playing with his balls and sliding three fingers inside him to prepare him any way possible when he gave up and came right down her throat. "Good girl…" he moaned and clamped a hand in her hair as she swallowed his warm seed and licked him clean, "good girl…"

"Get hard for me again…" wrapping a hand around his cock she pumped him hard watched him hiss in pleasure while bucking his hips into her tiny hand, "good boy…" positioning herself in the strap-on and looking him in the eye she thrust inside and he moaned. He moaned so fucking loud and it only turned her on more, "Mmmm good boy Jamie…harder baby I need to see your cock…"

Painfully he wrapped both legs around her waist and met her thrusts as fast as he could, loving the hand she had wrapped around his cock stroking him fiercely as her movements got harder.

"Mmmm" he moaned while watching the way she both slammed her hips inside him and slid her hand down his long length, "oh Baby Doll…"

"Fuck Jamie" pumping herself harder into him he was stiffer each minute that passed by and she loved it, "Cum, Jamie…" aiming his cock at her breasts she nodded eagerly, "cum for me baby, right here!"

Within seconds his warm seed was shot all over her breasts and as he moaned from orgasm she was right back to slamming the dildo into him and stroking his cock.

"Fuck get hard Jamie get hard…" moaning and removing the strap-on belt she was already loving the fingers of his stroking her need-swollen pussy.

"Baby Doll…" he growled while slipping fingers inside and feeling the way she happily rode them just about made him cum again, "Oh fuck me, Baby Doll…so fucking wet"

"Fuck me Jamie" looking him in the eye she begged and kissed him, "Please…I'm so fucking wet!"

"I know you are Baby Doll…" kissing her back and rubbing noses with her he positioned himself and quickly slid his massive throbbing erection inside her tight wetness milking him already and he hadn't even fucked her yet. Her head went back and she sighed at the tight entry, but he was already kissing her throat and moving sweat-saturated hair out of her face. "Fuck so wet and tight Baby Doll…no matter how many times I stretch and fuck your pussy you're still so god damn tight for me" slowly be began to thrust, "Fucking squeezing me so good and you're so wet"

"I will always be wet for you Jamie" leaning up she nodded and kissed his nose, "Even when we are not together I'll want you."

Just hearing those words as he picked up his pace and thrust inside her, pounding away at her tightness and trying not to cry at the facial expressions she made in reaction to how well he was fucking her. She was so beautiful and he loved her in ways he couldn't even imagine. No one could imagine the way he loved her because it was something no one else would ever know. He lived and breathed her, he would die before ever intentionally hurting her. She was his. She was his living Baby Doll who drove him crazy. He wanted her in every single way as much as he could get it, be couldn't even fathom losing her.

Sex to him was a way to get closer, a form of bonding for the two of them. Each time they made love he was closer to her heart, and yeah he considered himself spoiled by always getting to enjoy her body and making it do things no one else could ever dream it would do. His movements were slow for a long time, kissing her the entire time lovingly when the carnal need kicked in and he got rougher. His cock slammed into her faster and harder loving the way she moaned his name and kept her legs locked around his waist. She was his. She would always be his. Though he knew he could get her off in about twenty seconds he wanted this to last all night. He wanted to unload into her pussy until there was nothing left.

"Cum for me Baby Doll…" kissing her forehead he begged, "Please please please…"

A sharp breath and she did just that, clamping onto him and crying loudly as they continued their lovemaking for the rest of the night.

…

Amber, Thorn, Scarlett, and Chelsea all stood at the entrance gate for their private jet taking them to Houston, Texas. Mindy had already bought a mansion there and now it was just a matter of getting her on the plane. James had taken her to the airport and Cooper was with the girls, deciding to usher them onto the plane because they wouldn't move otherwise and would come back out for Mindy.

Red-eyes he stared at her lovingly, giving his wife the softest look he'd ever given anyone before leaning down and pressing a loving kiss to her lips.

"I love you…" he nodded at her with a sniffle, "More than I could ever tell you."

"I love you too" she croaked with a sniffle, leaning in and kissing him back before cuddling against his chest and just standing there. Neither moved to let go and already he was kissing her deeper and deeper, tangling a hand in her hair just to keep her from going anywhere. Their innocent kissing transgressed into making out and she jumped up with her legs around his waist, the two of them getting more and more intimate by the second when James began hyperventilating. "Jamie?"

"You…" shaking violently at her he croaked, "You don't have to go, you can stay with me! Or I can go with you Baby Doll I can and we don't have to be away from each other…" shaking his head he dropped his eyes so they kissed, "we don't ever have to be away from each other. We can…!" he nodded desperately but Mindy saw right through it.

"I love you James Paul Lawson" pressing her forehead against his and kissing his lips she nodded, "more than life itself. More than my babies more than ANYONE in the universe my darling I love YOU" tears were streaming down both their faces, "and do not forget that"

"Baby please…!" begging he hugged her close and panicked, pulling her into his lap and sobbing loudly, "NO! Don't leave me Baby Doll don't go away PLEASE don't go away I'll fucking die without you PLEASE!"

"I love you" they kissed deeper and she nodded, "I don't wanna leave you Jamie PLEASE I don't want to leave you"

He was shaking his head and sobbing into her neck, crying his eyes out and kissing her frantically in the process.

"I don't want to leave you, Baby Doll NO!" he shook his head and refused to let her budge, "Stay with me darling PLEASE stay with me I love you so fucking much please please one more day with you just one more day PLEASE!"

"I WANT one more day James I do PLEASE do not leave me no no no no don' leave me I was KIDDING Jamie darling I was kidding please" they kissed and clung to each other frantically, "Don't leave me I love you I love you DON'T leave me don't leave me DON'T LEAVE ME!"

"DON'T YOU FUCKING LEAVE ME!" he shouted right back through tears and they held the other desperately until Cooper had to physically drag her away leaving James a sobbing mess right in the middle of the airport.


	19. Chapter 19

**Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you! **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Hopefully that can happen. We'll find out soon enough. **jadeMK11**: Cooper definitely wouldn't appreciate that happening. The thing was, Mindy and James wouldn't have stopped making that scene if someone hadn't forced it to end. They were too desperate to stay with each other.

…

"What ya doin what ya doin what ya doin?" Tryg asked Taylor as he careened into the kitchen and slid across the floor in his socks. He nearly fell right on his head but he caught himself at the last moment and avoided disaster.

Taylor shook her head and smoothed down his blonde hair before going back to what she had just been doing. "I'm making sandwiches," she replied. She had already made Tryg's so she handed him the plate and pointed to the table. "Chips and juice are there, help yourself.

"Thank you." Tryg trotted off to the table and sat down, literally cramming as much of his sandwich into his mouth as possible.

"Tryggy!" Taylor said in exasperation. "Please eat like a human being!"

"Uggghhh!" Tryg pouted at her but when she didn't budge he reluctantly slowed down and started chewing and swallowing his food.

"Thank you." She looked back towards the doorway and took a deep breath. "Connor! Come here so I can feed you!" Even though she still wasn't fully on the spend time with Connor brigade, someone had to take care of him now that Cooper was in Texas. James had sunk into a pretty low depression so he was holed up in his office, on the phone with Mindy as much as he could possibly be and doing who knew what else. She hadn't actually talked to him since he had come back from the airport. Tryg and Connor both had and they and they had told her he just wasn't holding up well at all. Elizabeth's disappearance had taken a horrible toll on him and the lack of Mindy by his side had just made it even worse.

"FOOOOOOODDDDDD!" Connor bellowed as he came barreling into the room with Snoopy and Spike on his heels. He had on a pair of swim trunks and a lime green mesh shirt that probably wasn't his and he had a giant purple felt top hat on his head and a bandana tied around his neck.

"What in the-" Taylor forced herself to stop and shake her head. She could not question this. This was Connor. Cooper had warned her several times that some of the things he just did shouldn't be questioned because there was no real logic behind them. This was definitely one of those times.

"What are we having?" Connor asked.

"Sandwiches," Taylor informed him.

"I want macaroni and cheese."

"That's dinner. Now you like peanut butter and banana sandwiches, right?" Cooper had mentioned that he liked those but she was double checking just in case.

"That's part of it," Connor said, bouncing up and down excitedly.

"A part of it?" Taylor was sure she didn't want to know and regretted asking.

"Mhmmmm! Crunchy peanut butter and banana sandwiches with extra peanuts and pickles."

Taylor literally dropped the butter knife she was holding and gagged at that. "What?"

"He eats them all the time," Tryg chimed in. "Usually Daddy or Cooper make them for him because Mom thinks those things are just gross."

"I'm on Mom's team there," Taylor said as she started making the sandwich. "This is just so disgusting."

"How do you know?" Connor asked as he got out the peanuts and pickles. "You've never tried it!"

"I don't think I need to try this to know it's disgusting." She did the peanut butter and banana part and let Connor put as many pickles and peanuts on that he wanted before slapping the other piece of bread on top.

"Yum yum yum!" Connor shoveled the sandwich into his mouth and Taylor didn't even bother him to eat like a human being. That was just a battle she would not remotely win.

"I want to go outside and play," Tryg announced after she had made her own sandwich and sat down to eat with them. Snoopy started begging for food so Connor crunched up some chips and laid them down on the floor so the puppy could munch on them.

"We should play out back then by the pool," she replied. She didn't want to take him out front and risk running into any paparazzi that wanted to bug them about Elizabeth or anything else the lechers liked to think was their business.

"I wanna teach Snoopy and Spike how to swim," Connor announced.

Taylor wrinkled her nose. Snoopy swimming would probably be cute but Spike…hell no. "That goat is not getting in the pool," she stated firmly.

Connor snorted and shook his head. "Who said I was asking you?" He polished off his sandwich and got up to his feet. "Imma go see if Daddy wants a sandwich too."

"Connor don't, I already-" Taylor sighed in defeat as Connor ran off, not even remotely listening to her.

"He does that a lot," Tryg said matter of factly.

"Yeah I know…" Taylor sighed. She was just going to let him go. If he didn't want to listen he would just have to find out for himself that James didn't want to be bothered by anyone at the moment.

…

James sat in his office chair and moved his foot constantly as he carefully worked on the album in front of him. He and Mindy had been talking obsessively but now she was seeing the doctor with Amber and had no reception there, which left him with no Baby Doll to talk to. He had thought about maybe going to get some sleep but he quickly decided against that. He couldn't bear the thought of sleeping in his bed without her. He had laid there earlier, smelling her shampoo on the pillow and it had been too much for him. Sleeping would just be utterly impossible for him to do.

He sighed and chewed on his lower lip as he continued with what he was doing. He had found an unused photo album in the hallway closet and now he was using it to make a photo album of Mindy and Elizabeth. He knew Mindy didn't think he had any pictures of her but he did. He had them in a different drawer of his desk and he was staring at them along with his pictures of Elizabeth, trying to decide if he wanted them in any particular order. His progress was being hindered by the fact that he could barely stand to look at the pictures, especially the ones of Elizabeth. At least with Mindy she was constantly calling him and talking to him and letting him know exactly what she was doing and telling him that she missed him. They still had no idea where Elizabeth was. The police had yet to find a solid lead on who exactly the man was that took her in the first place and there was no telling if she was even in Nevada anymore…or even still alive…

That last thought made him quickly turn his chair around and bury his face in his hands. Seconds later he was sobbing loudly, completely unable to stop himself. His baby was gone and there seemed to be nothing he could do about it. He had nowhere to look, nobody to kill, no idea…all he could do was sit there and not know. Helpless…answerless…oh how he fucking hated this. He fucking hated it so much no words would ever be able to describe it.

"Daddy! Daddy Daddy Daddy!"

He sucked in a sharp breath and he looked towards the door with tear stained eyes. "What Connor?" he croaked out.

"You want a sandwich?"

James let out a shaky sigh. Hadn't he been asked this already? "No thank you."

"You sure?" Connor opened the door and poked his head on. James hadn't realized he had forgotten to lock it properly. "You want a pizza instead? Or Cheeze-Its? I have those I do."

"No thank you Connor," James said with a sigh. "I'm not hungry."

"Oh. Okay." Connor gave James a little wave before running off, forgetting to shut the door again behind him. James sighed and started to get up so he could go and close it but his phone ringing distracted him. "Baby Doll?" he said hopefully as he answered it.

"No it's Campbell. Listen, I've got some news."

"Lizzie Bear? Did you find her?" James was on the edge of his seat, coming dangerously close to breaking his phone he was squeezing it so hard.

"No but we did find the car that the man drove off in. It was stolen and abandoned in the desert-"

"He has her in the desert?" James yelled, making Campbell wince on the other end.

"We don't think so. Judging from the tire tracks there was definitely another car here, so either someone was out here to pick him up or he had one hidden out here so he could switch them out. Either way, he's long gone."

James clenched his fist and got up to his feet. "Where in the desert was this?"

"About twenty miles outside of the city-"

James hung up the phone and shoved it into his pocket. He didn't want to hear another word. The only thing he wanted to do was get to the desert as fast as fucking possible.

…

Connor watched James leave from the window and sighed and shook his head. "Daddy's really sad," he told Snoopy and Spike. "I don't like it. Daddy shouldn't have to be sad."

Spike just stared at him dumbly while Snoopy jumped up on his lap and started licking his hands. He laughed at that and hugged his beagle tightly while looking back out the window. He saw the mailman come and put the mail in the mailbox and he let out a whoop. He loved getting the mail. It made him feel all important and special because it meant he got to it first. "Out of the way infidels!" he shouted. He ran out of the room and out the front door, nearly tripping and falling over his own feet. He caught himself at the last second and made it to the mailbox, opening it to find only a single manila folder that was addressed for James.

"Oooh…I wanna see I wanna see I wanna see!" Connor ripped it open without a second thought and looked inside, his eyes widening as he saw what it was. "Uh oh…Daddy's going to be maaaaaaaad…."

…

When James got out to where Campbell said the car was he found the detective himself and several officers still combing the area for any possible clue that could possibly be there. Elizabeth's disappearance was beyond top priority-an advantage of Mindy being so famous. When Campbell saw him get out of his car he shook his head and approached him. "Mr. Lawson please-"

"What did you find?" James asked, his fists clenched so tightly that his fingernails were leaving half moon marks all over the palm of his hand.

"We didn't find anything Mr. Lawson. We've been checking forever there's nothing-"

James didn't care for that answer. He moved away from Campbell and grabbed one of the other people there and gave them a good shake. "What did you find? What the fuck did you find?"

The guy's eyes just about popped out of his head. James was literally lifting him up off the ground and dangling him there. "Ju-just some stray hairs-"

"WHAT hairs?"

"B-b-blonde ones."

James dropped him and eyed the car with huge eyes, shaking his head in denial. "Elizabeth…"

"Uh oh…" Campbell could only wince as James grabbed on to both sides of his head and literally ripped out some of his hair. "Mr. Lawson-"

SMASH! James hit one of the windows of the car as hard as he could, shattering it with his bare hand. The glass embedded itself into his fist and he started bleeding pretty bad, which got him whisked into Campbell's car and taken to the hospital to get his hand looked at.

…

"Fuck fuck fuck," James cursed under his breath when he finally found himself walking back up his driveway. Three of his knuckles were broken and his hand was really heavily wrapped but that didn't really bother him. This was far from the worse pain he had ever been in. It just annoyed him that the cops had treated him like he was some sort of child. He wasn't a fucking child. He had several children, one of which that was missing…missing…oh fuck he needed Elizabeth back…

"DADDY!" Connor came running out of the house, waving an envelope in his hands. He hadn't shown Taylor or Tryg what was in it. He figured James wanted to see it first. "Daddy Daddy Daddy! You got mail!"

James groaned and shook his head. "Connor please, I'm not-"

"It's about Lizzie!"

James immediately changed his tune and ripped the envelope right out of Connor's hands. He pulled out the contents, bile rising up from his stomach and burning the back of his throat. There were several pictures of Elizabeth, all of them showing her in a dark room, crying and staring at the camera fearfully. "Lizzie…" His legs went weak and he had to grab on to Connor for support. "Who sent this? WHO SENT THIS?"

"I don't know!" Connor replied, freaking out because James was scaring him. "The mailman brought it there's nothing that says who it's from." He bent down and picked something up. "You dropped the note Daddy."

James grabbed the note and read it over several times, unable to comprehend it at first. It was a simple note, all typed in big bold black letters and it made him slump down to the ground right at the spot.

**It's time to play a game Mr. Lawson.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Cathy** and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: Whatever his motive is, this is all really just begun. James thinks it's bad now but it's really only going to get worse. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: lol I can safely tell you it's not Jigsaw or Triple H. Taylor's gonna explain her theory on that note and she's gonna hit the nail on the head about what kind of guy we're dealing with here.

…

"Oh darling, NO!" Mindy cried into the phone while holding Amber's hand tightly in the private hospital room, "You did NOT break your hand by punching police windows!"

"Th-three knuckles" James choked with a shake of the head, "three knuckles."

"But darling, WHY?" her voice spiked and she whimpered, shaking her head and clamping a hand in her thick head of raven hair. Thorn, Scarlett, and Chelsea were watching the Wizards of Waverly Place with Amber while Cooper was just sitting next to Mindy stroking the top of her hand with his thumb.

The silence on James's part was anything from comforting and she frowned.

"Oh no no no Jamie PLEASE tell me WHY my darling WHY did you break your hand like that?"

"My knuckles-"

"Regardless you broked something Jamie WHY?" her voice spiked childishly and Cooper just kept his eyes averted, reaching to run his fingers through her hair and it wasn't lost on Amber, who shot him a look to stop it.

"Be…" James couldn't even speak he was so irate. A hand ran through his hand and began clenching and unclenching randomly. He needed Baby Doll and he needed her there with him now. He had to tell her, he had to show her what he saw because he couldn't dare speak the words. He could barely speak at all never mind everything that he wanted to tell her, "Because…"

"Yes, darling…?" the sweetness of her tone was driving him mad from practically halfway across the country. She was too far away from him, hell, ten steps away was too far away from him. Taking a deep breath and trying to lick his lips to moisten them enough to speak, James choked.

"I-I got a p-package…"

"Oh?" her lips pouted and she nodded along, "Was it Gwyneth Paltrow's head?"

"What?" it took James a second to process what just came from her mouth, but Cooper got it alright. He started sniggering and gave Mindy a monkey bite for her efforts.

"OW! BUB!"

"Baby Doll?" James perked miserably, hoping he didn't have to kill anyone when Mindy sighed and shook her head.

"I am sorry my beautiful perfect darling, tell me about your package I want to know"

"Of course you do…" Cooper murmured to receive the hardest pinch he ever got in his life, "FUCK Mom!"

"We found his car" that made Mindy stand from the bed with wide eyes and leave the room, Cooper moving to follow but she gave him the evil eye to stay in the room.

"W-what are you talking about?"

James swallowed hard before continuing, "We…we found his car, Baby Doll…"

"Oh goody so how did that break your hand, my love?"

Now he fidgeted and forced out, "T-they found his car…"

"Yes my love, you told me that…" she nodded along with pursed lips, "did they find anything good in it?"

"Hair"

"What?"

"Our. Daughter's. Hair. Blonde. Straight. Her hair."

Mindy looked sick and immediately nurses ran over to assist the superstar pacing about the hallway but she shooed them away, "James?"

"I know…" he nodded and ran a hand through his hair, "I'm fucking sick I can't-"

"Hey! Yes!" she nodded with wide eyes and sniffled, trying so desperately to hide the tears begging to stream down her face, "Darling…you will be fine…we need you I NEED YOU James to be strong for me, alright? PLEASE James we HAVE to get through this together we HAVE to-"

"He showed me Lizzie Bear, Baby Doll…" he nodded with a dreary croak, his lips were already quivering and unknown to him Taylor was watching with Tryg from the window, exchanging glances with the four-year-old and swallowing hard.

"What…" her face was beet-red from tears now yet still she remained stoic, "James…"

"I don't want you to see them" swallowing hard he shook his head and tried hard to hide how red his own eyes were becoming.

"Jamie-"

"NO" he shook his head firmly and felt sick yet again, "Just…" sniffling he croaked and shook his head while running a hand through his hair, "I love you."

"Ja-"

"I love you so fucking much Baby Doll it makes me sick to be this far away from you…you know that, right?" his voice wavered to the point that it was pathetic and Mindy had to hold a hand over her mouth and sob into it, keeping a hand tight over her mouth so poor James couldn't hear her sobbing that way because of the way he was behaving. She hated it when he cried, she died a little bit every time he did and she just loved him way too much to ever allow anything to happen to him. Elizabeth had ripped her lungs out when she found out that fucker took her, and she didn't even really get to cry yet because she had to be strong for James. Despite whatever was morally right James was the light of her life. If it would hurt him it couldn't be done, and unfortunately getting to cry over her missing baby hadn't been allowed to hit her yet. It would…it would hit her like a ton of bricks pretty soon but when James was concerned and anybody who knew him? She was to remain the supporter because this was taking such a violent toll with him.

"I do know that Jamie darling" croaking drearily she nodded and nestled against the cold wall pretending it was his chest because he wasn't there to hold her. He wasn't there to comfort her and who knew when she would get him again. She wouldn't sleep without him but he couldn't know that. If he asked her a question everything was fine and she couldn't wait to see him again. That was the standard. Amber was going for her first round of radiation therapy in the morning and Mindy wasn't allowed to react to anything. "I do know that and I love you so much my darling, more than anyone"

"I…" running a hand through his hair he coughed and shook his head frantically, "I can't DO it, Baby Doll! I just can't! I can't do a fucking thing without you I love you so god damn much! I can't I can't he's gonna kill her she's dead she's DEAD she-"

"JAMES!" that got him to cease hyperventilating pretty quickly and he coughed to get a hold of himself, "NONE of that is going to happen, do you fucking understand me?"

He forced a nod, but though she couldn't see it for some reason she felt it.

"Jamie…" she frowned, "are you listening?"

"Y-y-yeah"

"We are GOING to find her, okay?" she cooed, petting the wall as if it were him and crying even harder, not even wanting to imagine how he was going to spend a night alone all by himself without her. There was no way he could do it. He needed her, and she needed him just as desperately and this whole situation just totally sucked. "WE will. You know we will. I love you, and we will find her James."

…

Though James had pitched a fit begging her not to hang up the phone unfortunately she had to, and it was ripping her up too she didn't want to hang up on him but Amber's hematologist needed to speak with her and she would obsessively call him later to check up on him.

James sat alone in Elizabeth's room, sitting in a rocking chair Mindy liked to sing to Elizabeth in completely hunched over with tear-drenched beige skin. In his hands loosely was Lammy, which he could still smell Elizabeth on and it completely broke him. The face was almost completely chewed but the baby loved the thing, she wouldn't sleep without him…and that only made his entire body begin to vibrate and he cried harder. Salty tears dripped onto the face of his daughter's favorite thing in the world and he clutched it close to himself, breathing in the stuffed animal which so was needed by his daughter and tensing up violently.

"She's not dead…" came the low-pitched raspy voice from the doorway, and upon angrily lifting his eyes he came to face the seventeen-year-old Mindy had fallen completely in love with and took in as a daughter, "don't start mourning her when she's still alive" the look he shot her was awfully frightening but she tried diligently to work around it, "you never know what will happen tomorrow-"

"He's gonna kill her" he croaked upon noticing she had the envelope he was sent in her hands, "He's gonna…" looking down he heaved, "he's gonna kill her!"

"Please, Mr. Lawson!" Taylor placed the envelope down on a dresser and sped towards her adoptive father, leaning over him and rubbing his back and shoulders quickly to make the incredibly handsome man simmer down, "Mr. Lawson"

"She's fucking DEAD" James whipped his head up and spat at her, "You fucking dumb whore! What part of 'dead' do you not-"

"By acting this way Mr. Lawson she might as well BE dead!" she shouted with a stamp of her foot, "You NEED to stop doing this to yourself and you're hurting HER! She's a BABY Mr. Lawson, she needs you and Mom! You guys have GOT to get it together! Acting this way and just dooming her won't help!"

"Oh yeah?" he croaked while waving a hand, "And what's YOUR grand idea?"

"Well…" shrugging she ran a hand through her hair and sighed, gently mashing her teeth while shaking her head, "I don't know I mean, I know you're not religious so I'm not saying this in a religious sense but…" she frowned and placed a skinny hand over his, "keep faith in your daughter"

His eyes remained dead ahead of him and she rubbed his back before leaning over to try and look him in the eye.

"Mr. Lawson…"

"You…" he chortled sarcastically, "you actually expect me to keep 'faith' in my infant daughter who can barely stand on her own?"

"Of course I do" Taylor nodded curtly and smiled weakly, sitting in front of him and swinging her legs into a pretzel, "If she's anything like YOU I bet she's already-"

"No she's not…" he croaked though Taylor frowned and skimmed her fingers through her long platinum blonde hair, "y-you've-"

"I've seen the envelope" she answered his unasked question, "Look…" sighing she pulled the note out and pouted her thin lips at him, raising her light eyebrows while pointedly reading the sentence, "It's time to play a game, Mr. Lawson'…" her eyes widened with a snort and her brow furrowed, "What is this, Jigsaw? Look clearly the guy fucking sucks as a person and thinks he's cool recycling lines from classic horror films…he's like Scream or something without the funny ghost costume"

"You don't-"

"Look…I used to be a stripper alright? Reading guys is what I do…and this guy seems like a total cheesedick. He's a complete loser, has no friends, and probably has a chode like no other so he thinks takin' Mindy Stratus's baby makes him Captain Testosterone or something"

James swallowed hard before frowning, "He addressed it to ME"

"Meaning he knows Mommadukes is in Texas"

"Everyone knows she's in Texas-"

"And that information is obtained through outside media…meaning this fucker DOES have an address and an ID…he's not one of those hippies in the Bayou"

"So?"

"So?" shrugging she reached up and took one of his massive hands in hers, "that means you can hunt his ass down and make him wear his child-abducting ass for a hat"

James didn't respond so she continued.

"I know you kill people…" she waited for his reaction but he didn't really give one, "I caught Coop doing it and got him to kinda spill the shit about you guys…"

"She made me stop killing…" he nodded at Taylor absently, "my Lizzie Bear…for the most part…did you know that?"

Immediately startled she shook her head, "N-no, I…"

"I kill for power…because I had none of my own…"

"I don't mean this to throw her under the bus, but Mommy told me all about you"

James smiled softly and nodded, playing with his wedding ring on his finger and nodding, "Her too…when I'm with her I forget…"

"Forget what?" she frowned and pet the top of his hand when his eyes rose to meet hers.

"How fucking useless and pathetic I am."

…

"Mommy please…" Cooper frowned while looking Mindy over, "go home."

With heavy purple bags under her eyes she was beyond exhausted but had to stay with Amber.

"I'll watch her, you take the girls and go home…" he nodded when her eyes got big and she nodded a bit.

"Are you sure?"

"Go" he nodded at her when she sniffled and motioned to the three little girls and walked over to give her long reluctant drawn-out paranoid goodnight to Amber.

…

The girls went to bed right when they walked in the door because a day at the hospital was beyond tiring. Mindy wanted to go to bed too but the girls came first. They really didn't even know the new house that well yet but it was off all by itself completely gated with no neighbors at all. To Mindy's knowledge there were nine bedrooms and fifteen bathrooms around the house since she and Trish had bathroom obsessions.

Swallowing hard after tucking the girls in the bedrooms they demanded to be theirs as well as Oxa sleeping with Thorn and Scarlett and Stickers with Chelsea, Mindy was predicting Chelsea would show up in her room because she didn't like new houses on the first night. Once Mindy came and slept with her for a few nights she would be okay, and only then.

Taking a deep breath she entered what should have been her and James's bedroom to peel her dress over her head and grab a pair of James's boxers. She stood still a moment, clutching the fabric close to her skin and lifting a framed picture of him holding their daughter in the backyard, she broke. Tears surfaced and she sobbed loudly missing her daughter and her husband so much. Zooming in the entire process of her mentally breaking down in her bra and panties a video camera followed her every move and whimper, paying special attention to her breasts and panties when surprisingly those went off and James's boxers went on. She then lied down in the bed and cried so hard she had no idea how she was going to make it through the night never mind anything else.


	21. Chapter 21

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: This whole thing is just so rough on them. Losing Lizzie was a horrible enough blow but the separation is just mentally fucking them over even more. And I agree, Taylor is very very awesome. Too bad a certain boy she likes doesn't notice *kicks Cooper* **jadeMK11**: Hopefully it does. He needs someone to do it pretty bad right now. **Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thanks!

…

"Come on, can you please come over and help?" Connor asked as he bounced anxiously on his bed. "Please? With a cherry on top?"

Julie sighed as she threw her wet towel in the pile with her dirty laundry. She had missed Connor's first call because she had been in the shower and she had called him back after she had dried off and gotten dressed. "I think maybe you should run your idea by James first," she said. "If I show up and set him off-"

"But you'll be here to help find Lizzie!" Connor whined. He bounced on his bed some more and shook his head. "He can't get mad at you for that. And besides, he's hiding up in Lizzie' room and won't come out. He barely even talks unless Mindy's on the phone with him." He pouted his lips when he didn't get an answer out of her right away. He knew that there was bad blood between Julie and James and Mindy and logic dictated that she really shouldn't be the one he was calling but he did it anyway. For one thing he didn't give a flying fuck what went down between James and his dad and Mindy. That wasn't his concern and just because she wasn't welcome any more didn't mean he had stopped liking her. He had talked to her a few times behind everyone's back; not even Cooper had known he had done it. And with Cooper in Texas he didn't really have anyone else nearby enough to help out. And he didn't like that. He didn't like that someone had snatched his sister and was hiding her somewhere. He did love her, even though he didn't necessarily pay all that much attention to her or even acted like it at times. Plus this was his life too that had gotten thrown out of whack. The sooner Elizabeth was found, the sooner everything could just go back to normal-well, as normal as they could get anyway.

"Connor I don't know…"

"You can come just for a few minutes," Connor said quickly. "Look at the pictures and the note and see if you can figure out anything. Please? Please please please please please-"

"Okay okay," Julie finally agreed. Showing up at the house was completely against her better judgment; the hospital had been one thing but the last time she had been at the Casa de Lawson hadn't ended well and she wasn't sure if she should test her luck by going back there. Even with Mindy all the way across the country she didn't feel welcomed. But here she was, agreeing to go through with it. "Are you sure he's up in Elizabeth's room?"

"Yeah. Nobody can get him to come out. Me and Taylor and Tryg have been trying but he won't budge."

"Okay fine. I'll be there soon."

"Thank you Julie."

"Yeah, you're welcome." If it had been anyone else on the phone she said they would have owed her big time. But since it was Connor and he wouldn't ever be able to repay her, she just hung up and grabbed her shoes so she could get going. If she could get in and get out without actually having to speak to James she would do it. That would probably be the best thing overall.

…

"I just feel so BAD," Taylor lamented to Cooper over the phone. She was pacing around the kitchen, stopping to look at the pictures of Elizabeth and reread the note once again. The pictures with Elizabeth broke her heart but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't tear her eyes away from them. And she figured they were better off in her grasp and away from James. He was horribly depressed as it was, he didn't need these adding on to it. "He really think she's already dead and-"

"Well can you blame him?" Cooper interrupted gently. "She's a baby, she can't defend herself against anything…and these missing kid cases do generally end pretty badly."

"I know," she said with a sigh. "But that's not going to help her Cooper! We have to believe we can find her so we can actually DO that."

Cooper let out a very long breath. "Yeah I know. That'll be easier said than done with him though."

Taylor knew that. James was clearly not only terrified out of his mind for Elizabeth (as they all were) but he was also suffering from an extreme case of guilt. His protectiveness of Elizabeth was legendary; he was protective of all the kids and Mindy as well, but Elizabeth was the baby. HIS baby. And nobody got within her radius without getting James's eyes right on them, studying them and making sure they weren't a threat to her. Then, the one instant she had needed him the absolute most he hadn't even been there. He had been at home nursing a hangover. As much as he obviously blamed the negligent hospital staff, he blamed himself just as much or even more. It was his duty to protect her and he had failed her-the guilt of which was plainly killing him.

"I wish Mom wouldn't have had to leave," Taylor said as she looked over at Tryg, who was watching Spiderman in his Spiderman costume. "That just made it worse."

"Oh fuck, that scene at the airport was brutal," Cooper told her. "I mean really, it redefined the word pathetic."

"Cooper-"

"He's so beyond dependent on her-"

"Don't you try to be the same way?" Taylor pointed out.

Cooper was silent for a moment. "His dependence goes way beyond even me," he finally said. "Like really…he's like actually co-dependent on her. The only way he'll remotely slip out of that funk he's in is if she comes back home."

"But she can't come home. She's gotta stay in Texas-"

"I know that. But come on, does he look like he's in any condition to accept that really?"

"No." That was the honest truth. "Mentally he's pretty fucked."

"Where is he now?"

"Up in Elizabeth's room sitting in that chair holding Lammy. He won't budge an inch out of it."

"Oh fuck…"

"Yeah. It's really sad."

"He needs to pull himself together, if only for Mom's sake."

"She's not here. That's part of the problem now."

"But she's here and she's worrying her fucking ass off about him," Cooper pointed out. "Between him, Lizzie and Amber…she's a wreck but she won't show it. Dad can't be strong so she has to be the strong one. That's not fair to her."

"Well telling him that that will just kill him even more," Taylor replied. "So yeah…let's not do that." The doorbell ringing caught her attention. "Someone's here I gotta go."

"Who would be there?"

"Probably that detective I guess. I'll call you back later, okay?"

"Okay."

Taylor hung up the phone and went towards the front door, really expecting Detective Campbell or someone like that. Before she could get to the door and find out though Connor came running down the stairs and got there first. "Hi Julie!" he said as he let a blonde forty something year old woman into the house.

Taylor frowned. "Uh Connor-"

"This is Julie," Connor said, anticipating Taylor's question. "She used to be Daddy's assistant for a long long time but then she and Mindy didn't get along and now she's not Daddy's assistant anymore."

"So why is she here?" Taylor wasn't quite sure what to make of the older woman so she was on her guard.

Julie raised her eyebrows. She had seen Taylor in magazine pictures trailing Mindy and looking after the kids; Mindy Stratus just didn't adopt a girl off the streets and had it go unnoticed. "I'm here because Connor said something about James getting a package-"

"Of pictures!" Connor said dutifully. "Of Elizabeth. I saw them first I did and then I showed Daddy and now he's really upset." He grabbed Julie's hand and dragged her to the kitchen. "Come on, I'll show you them."

Taylor shook her head and followed the two of them back into the kitchen. "There's not much to see," she said as Connor took Julie right to the table and let her look at the pictures. "Not much beyond the obvious. Obviously this guy is a fucking pathetic piece of shit who thinks he's a big shot for snatching this kid."

Julie grabbed the note and read it over for several times before shaking her head. "Wow. This guy has seen Saw way too many times." She looked back at the pictures, which were the only reason that note wasn't laughably pathetic. "I'm assuming there hasn't been a ransom call?"

"No…wait…" Connor looked at Taylor. "Do the peoples want ransom?"

"No," Taylor answered. "Not that I'm aware of. Money is the main suspicion for motive but there hasn't been-"

"Then there probably won't be," Julie concluded. "That baby is worth millions; if someone was looking in to cash in they would have done so already."

"And what makes you so sure of that?"

Julie smirked. "My role as assistant wasn't to assist-I pretty much ran that business while James did nothing. I'm a business woman at heart and I know people when it comes to money."

"Plus you're a Jew!" Connor said. "So there's that."

Taylor smacked her palm to her forehead at that comment and Julie chose to ignore it. What would be the point of saying anything? It was Connor, correcting him rarely did any good.

Julie looked more closely at the photos and then looked at the note yet again. "It's just addressed to James…"

"Yeah," Taylor said as she folded her arms over her chest. "Guy knows Mom isn't here-"

"Yeah but what if the guy is just targeting James? He's got enemies, even if he doesn't know the majority of them." Julie slapped the note with her open palm. "If money isn't the objective there are only a few other possibilities. This stuff here supports the fact that it wasn't just a random kidnapping-this had to be planned."

"So planned and maybe targeting Mr. Lawson," Taylor said. She pursed her lips and thought about it. It did make sense in a way. James wasn't always the most pleasant person to be around and it would be easy to see how he would have an enemy. "He can't do anything to James because he's a brick-shit-house-"

"So he goes after not only the weakest person in the family but the one that will really hit James hard," Julie concluded. "Emotionally crippling him in the process."

Connor looked back and forth between Julie and Taylor, his eyes wide open and the cogs in his brain churning. "What if it's like those bad people on that SVU show?" he asked. "Who wanna touch Lizzie-"

"No no no," Taylor said as Julie clamped her hand over his mouth. That suggestion couldn't even be finished. If James was listening in and someone put that in his head…maybe it was already in there but they couldn't take the chance in case it wasn't. "No more. Just be quiet, alright?"

Connor's eyes narrowed but when glaring didn't get him anywhere he reluctantly nodded his head. "Meanies," he muttered when Julie let go of his mouth.

That comment went ignored in favor of more discussion. "Enemies…you say you know him so well? What the hell do you think?" Taylor asked Julie.

"Well…do you know some of James' act-"

"That he kills people? Yeah I know."

"Okay. Well, knowing that, like a family member of a victim could make sense…but…"

"But what?" Taylor still wasn't sure if she liked this woman at all but the conversation itself was too intense to not get into.

"Well…look at these pictures."

"I have. More times than I've ever wanted to."

"Look at the quality, not the content." Julie picked one up and handed it to Taylor. "Look at the lighting. The surroundings look like shit but yet she's perfectly lit to get every aspect of her-"

Taylor's eyes widened that. She had been so focused on Elizabeth that she hadn't even really realized that. "This guy is a professional. Years of experience of stalking maybe?"

"Or its his job," Connor said. "Like the camera people who follow us all the time."

Now THAT really got Julie and Taylor's attention. Taylor was shocked as hell that it came from Connor; Cooper had told her that he was capable of surprises like that but she hadn't ever seen it for herself before and hadn't really believed it to be true. "Mr. Lawson does get violent with them a lot…"

Julie nodded. "Yeah. Could be he fucked up a crazy one."

Taylor nodded too, grabbing the phone so she could call Detective Campbell and share this idea with him. Julie was taking her leave, saying something that Taylor didn't quite catch all the way. She was too busy muttering under her breath for the detective to hurry up and answer his phone. The cops were really thinking that this was for money but if they were on the right track they needed the cops to be on there too. They wouldn't be any good to them otherwise.

…

"_Da da da da!"_

"_Lizzie Bear?" James looked around wildly, not seeing his daughter anywhere. He didn't even know where he was. It was dark, all dark; he could barely even see his own hand in front of his face. _

"_Da!"_

"_Elizabeth!" James started trying to follow the sound of his daughter's voice. His heart was pounding wildly in his chest and he was turning his head around wildly even though he couldn't see for shit. "Lizzie sweetheart? I'm coming okay? Just hang on for Daddy."_

"_DA DA DA!" Elizabeth's voice was louder, more demanding. _

"_I'm coming!" he promised, trying to hide the rapid growing hysteria in his voice. He couldn't fucking see how was he going to find her? How was he going to fucking find her in the dark._

_Elizabeth only cried and then let out a god awful shriek_-

James's eyes snapped open as he woke up still in the chair, a shaking mess. He had only dozed off for a few minutes out of exhaustion and that was the shit he immediately started dreaming of. He could still hear Elizabeth screaming inside of his head and it made him get up and stumble to the bathroom, throwing up into the toilet as soon as he was in there. He didn't have much in his system at this point so it turned into dry heaving pretty quickly, and then once he was done he rested his head against the toilet bowl, sobbing for what felt like the millionth time. He was so fucking sick of doing it but he couldn't begin to stop. He couldn't stop, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't do anything-he was fucking pathetic.

Finally he forced himself back up to his feet and dragged himself to his and Mindy's bedroom. He had been avoiding it because he couldn't be in there without thinking about Mindy and missing her horribly but now he needed to be in there. He kicked the door shut behind him and crawled into the bed, laying down on her side of the bed because he could still smell her there. He took several deep breaths, soaking the sheets in more tears before taking his phone out of his pocket with one of his shaking hands and dialing Mindy's number. He needed to hear the sound of her voice or he was going to go insane. Absolutely fucking insane.


	22. Chapter 22

**Cathy **and **Esha Napoleon: **Thank you! **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: I know. He's so stubbornly blind to what's right in front of him and attainable. As much as he loves Mindy, he'll never truly have her the way he wants her. Not with James in the picture. **jadeMK11**: Connor's motivation to get Lizzie Bear found is slightly more selfishly motivated than love. He knows her being gone has turned everything upside down and the sooner she's found, the sooner James can go back to normal and go to Texas and send Cooper back home to him.

...

Mindy lay on her side sniffling and trying to keep the tears from completely blurring her vision when the phone rang on her nightstand. With a groan immediately she reached out from under the covers and lifted the cell phone off the wood before sighing and bringing it to her ear. Checking the digital clock next to her it was almost one in the morning but someone was calling her.

"What would you like from my life?"

There was a pause on the opposite end so James could smile, "Only for you to be my Baby Doll forever and ever…"

"Hi Jamie" sniffling and nodding Mindy hugged herself and tried to hide how happy she truly was to hear the sound of his voice. She wanted him, and she was going completely insane without him. "How are you, my beautiful darling?"

"I…" he trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck quickly, "I miss you."

"I miss you more" she nodded firmly and frowned, "you have no idea how hard it is to be around couples all day at the hospital and not have you there"

"I'm sorry"

"Do not be sorry" she shook her head and nuzzled the phone as if it were actually him, "That will only make me sad"

"I had a nightmare…" he exhaled and ran a hand over his face.

"Oh no, what about?"

"The baby" he forced out before switching gears again so he wouldn't brood about it, "So I had to call you and hear your voice"

"Oh Jamie…" she sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "I will help you sleep I promise"

"No"

She blinked a couple times and pouted her lips in disbelief, "What?"

"I can't sleep without you, Baby Doll there's no way no-"

"Oh good…" she sighed with a long pause, "I cannot sleep either. There is no sleeping without you"

"I'm so used to us being together before and after everything…" he smiled weakly, "I want you"

"I want you too Jamie" she moistened her lips before cracking a weak smile, "I thought about you in the shower today"

"Did you?" already his cock was beginning to twitch in his jeans.

"Yes"

"What were you thinking about in there, Baby Doll?" he was grinning.

"Well…" she giggled and shrugged, "I thought about you touching me…how wet you make me…" James gulped, "I thought about how well you finger me and how soft your tongue is when you lick me…and your cock"

"Did you touch yourself, Baby Doll?" already he was beginning to rub his groin with a single hand.

"Oh Jamie yes I did…" she frowned, "but it was not as good as you doing it"

"That sounds so hot, Baby Doll…" moaning happily he rubbed his groin harder, "I wish I was there to see it. I'm thinking about you playing with yourself and it makes me so fucking hard"

"Are you hard Jamie?" a tingle was also beginning to rise between her legs, "Are you getting nice and hard for me?"

"Oh fuck…" swallowing hard he looked down at his groin once again, "I'm so fucking hard for you"

"Mmmm" a hand reached down between her legs over her panties, "Jamie…"

"Oh that's right, Baby Doll…" slowly opening his jeans he allowed his cock to spring free, "get wet for me. Get so fucking wet my cock can slip right inside and fuck you raw"

"James…" already beginning to rub the red fabric of her panties she sighed, "my panties are soaked for you to fuck me"

"I need to fuck you…" slowly his right hand dropped around the base of his cock, "take off your panties."

"Okay Jamie…" slowly she pulled them off her hips and resituated herself on the bed just waiting for a command, "Are you stroking yourself thinking about my pussy?"

"Baby Doll…" moaning he slowly slid a hand up and down the base of his erection, sliding a thumb over the slit at the tip every so often, "I need to lick you"

Slowly as to insinuate his tongue she slid the underside of her palm and fingers against her wetness and moaned loud to rub against them, "Oh James, I'm so ready"

"Want to lick and play with your pussy so hard and taste all your juices on my tongue" nodding he stroked himself harder listening to the soft moans she made while rubbing herself on her back, "Finger you…see how wet I can really make you" he was stroking himself so hard he wanted to rip her through the phone.

"I need you Jamie" finding her clit she moaned and began petting herself in large circles which gradually shrunk and got faster, "I'm so hot and wet…your cock would feel so good inside me right now"

"It wants to be there Baby Doll" nodding eagerly his other hand dropped to fondle and lightly squeeze his balls, "I want to just fuck your pussy so hard and fill you with cum"

"Oh Jamie…"

"What, Baby Doll? You want to finger yourself right now? Is that it?"

"Yeah" she moaned happily.

"Do I make you want to finger yourself Baby Doll? Are you gonna pretend you're fucking me?"

"Mhm…" nodding happily she moved the phone lower so James could listen to her fingers slide inside her wetness and begin pumping away, "Oh James"

"Fucking perfectly tight and wet pussy squeezing my cock to make me cum already…" he panted while thrusting into his own hand, "I'm gonna fuck you Baby Doll…I'm gonna fuck you so hard"

"Fuck me, Jamie…" she begged while riding her own fingers.

"I'm fucking you Baby Doll" he wrapped a pair of her panties around his hand and began thrusting furiously, "I don't ever want to stop I just wanna fuck you forever"

"Mmmmm Jamie" riding her fingers harder and rubbing her clit with her thumb she moaned, "you're so hard"

"You sound so hot right now Baby Doll…riding your fingers pretending it's my cock"

"I love you James" she moaned while slowly bringing herself to the edge, bucking her hips into her hands slowly.

"I love you too Baby Doll" he thrust into his own hand as hard as he could, "I'm gonna cum so hard for you"

"Please James" she begged, "make me cum. Make me cum Jamie I need it so bad"

"Oh fuck Baby Doll" hissing he squeezed his balls harder and stroked his cock furiously, "Cover me in your juices oh please fucking drench me"

"Mmmm James…" rubbing her clit she fingered herself even harder, "James…James James James I love you!" her head went back and she released, still lightly pumping her fingers afterward as she heard James moan his own climax and spill all over his hand.

…

Grabbing the purple dildo she often used on James with a strap-on Mindy lay in the bathtub not much later keeping the phone on speaker. In her mouth was the dildo as she sucked it as hard as she could, fingering herself with the other hand as James stroked himself furiously on the other end. He sat on the edge of the bathtub pretending to receive the oral when she removed the dildo from her mouth and slid it inside her pussy.

"Oh mmmm James…"

"How does it feel, Baby Doll?" stroking himself hard he leaned back and admired his stiff cock, "You like sticking that dildo in your tight pussy?"

"Yeah…" she sighed happily.

"I bet it doesn't fuck you like my cock, now does it?"

"Mmmm no" shaking her head she arched her back and took the dildo harder, "I need you, Jamie…"

"You need me to cum, don't you?" he nodded while pressing a thumb into the slit at the tip of his cock just like she did whenever she gave him a handjob, "You're pretending that huge dildo is my cock but it can't cum for you now can it?"

"No…" she whined and rode it harder, "My pussy is so ready for you Jamie…it's so wet I need you to fuck it"

"I need your pussy Baby Doll" he thrust into his hand harder, "I have to cum so fucking bad but can't without you. I have nothing to cum in"

"Cum all over yourself, Jamie…" she begged while getting closer at the thought of that, "cum everywhere for me"

"I would love to lick all your sweet juices off that dildo"

"And I would love to suck every last drop of cum out of your cock"

He hissed and released hard.

…

"We don't have to live here permanently you know" Amber squeezed Mindy's hand as they, the twins, and Chelsea moved through the Galleria shopping for literally anything at the moment. All of them, including Chelsea, were depressed and needed to get away from the horrible hospital environment.

"We're here until I know for sure that you are better" Mindy warned her sharply and by the look on her face didn't want to hear another thing about it.

"So what? You're gonna have the baby here?" Amber shrugged when Mindy nodded and kissed the side of her head.

"If I have to, then yes I will have the baby here"

"Mommy, Chelsea wants a pretzel" Thorn tugged Mindy's white sundress and pointed to a pretzel stand but immediately Mindy wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

"Absolutely not" lifting Chelsea she kissed her cheek and stuck her tongue out, "You do not want rancid pretzels Chelsea they are dirty and taste like salt"

"So what DO we want?" Thorn giggled when Mindy spotted Cinnabon and grinned, which gave Amber no choice but to giggle and roll her eyes.

"Because that's just so much better, Mommy…"

"Shut your yap the last thing Chels needs is more sodium"

As they moved off a camera zoomed on Mindy and took a video of her walking with the kids.

…

"So let me get this straight" Cooper's brow furrowed as they sat at Amber's bedside, "Dad STILL doesn't trust me with you at all?"

"Apparently not" Mindy cringed and shook her head with a sigh, "he is being ridiculous but I cannot tell him that he is being ridiculous because of what happened with Lizzie Bear and the last thing Jamie needs is to be more upset"

"You're just babying him one way after the next…"

"Yes" she nodded but then rested her head right on Amber's bed as she did her math homework on the comforter, "And stop with the homework Ambie you've got fuckin' leukemia stop it"

"Nothing else to do" Amber shrugged with a bit of a sigh, "Nobody lets me do anything because you're all afraid I'm gonna drop dead or something"

"Nobody thinks you are gonna drop dead, Ambie" Mindy rolled her eyes and sighed before shaking out her hair, "We are just WORRIED, honey…we all have a reason to be worried now that we know you are sick"

"But nobody knew I was sick before" Amber shrugged and took Mindy's hand in hers, "It's not like my entire life is gonna drastically change I did everything just fine without that much pain at all"

"But I am still WORRIED, honey!"

"Don't be, Mommy!" Amber sighed and leaned forwards to pull Mindy into the bed with her, "I'm FINE! I WAS fine, and I'll BE fine okay? Lizzie Bear is-"

"Lizzie Bear is fucking dead for all I know alright, Amber?" coughing she shook her head and snuggled Amber close, "I am not losing YOU too alright?"

"But you haven't even cried for her…"

"I do not need to" she stiffened uncomfortably and replied, "my feelings were my own and the only people who need to know them are me and Elizabeth"

"THERE'S my favorite virgin!"

That voice made Mindy freeze and crane her neck to the doorway abashed.


	23. Chapter 23

**jadeMK11**: Yep, that's him-much to Mindy's chagrin. **cathy **and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: You and me both. He needs a good smacking quite frankly. Someone has to get some sense into him somehow.

…

Cooper's eyebrows shot straight up as Steve walked the rest of the way into the room. It had been quite awhile since he had seen the Texas Rattlesnake and honestly, even when Mindy had told him about him being utterly convinced she was still all sweet and innocent and virginal and all that, he had thought she had been exaggerating a bit. Obviously she hadn't been though; that very greeting proved that. "Virgin?" He snickered loudly before busting out into full fledged laughter, which made Mindy look at him and roll her eyes while Steve's eyes narrow and he shook his head to show his disapproval.

"What's so funny Cooper?" Steve folded his arms across his chest and stared at Cooper expectantly.

Cooper stared at the ultra serious look on Steve's face and he began laughing even more. He couldn't help himself. He found this shit to be way WAY too funny. "Dude…" He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself back down but it only lasted for a few seconds and then he was laughing yet again. He was laughing so fucking hard he had tears streaming down his face. "She's got KIDS!" he finally managed to get out. "Like a whole bunch of them!"

"Virgin pregnancies," Steve said, definitely not amused by how Cooper found this to be so funny.

"But…look who she's married to!" Steve had to be joking around. This was a really elaborate joke that he didn't really believe. "You've known Dad for what? Fourteen, fifteen years now or something? You know there's no way she's still-"

"She's a virgin," Steve said shortly. "Now don't make me come over there and shut you up."

Cooper almost started laughing yet again but this time Mindy elbowed him really hard in the ribs to get him to shut up. "Ow! Mom!"

"Shut up Bub," she ordered.

"But-" Cooper deflated at the looks he received from Mindy, Steve and Amber. "Ugh. You guys suck." Seconds later he got kicked really hard in the shins by Steve. "OWW!"

"Watch your mouth," Steve warned him. "You understand me?"

Cooper scowled. Steve was telling him to watch his language? Stone Cold Steve Austin was telling him to watch his language? Really? Him of all people was saying that shit? The universe had flipped upside down and gone completely out of whack. Or he was dreaming. Yeah, that was it. He had to be dreaming because this shit was just too crazy.

Mindy sighed and snuggled closer to Amber as her James appointed bodyguard eyed Cooper to make sure he wouldn't use any more bad language in Mindy's presence. "You didn't have to come," she told him. "Jamie worries too much we're fine here. I've got plenty of bodyguards already you don't have to waste your time here."

Steve shook his head. "I'm not wasting my time. James can't be here with you so I'm watching your back for him." He had talked to James not long before he had arrived here and from what he could tell, James was really hanging on by a very VERY thin thread. He didn't even attempt to really hide it. Any resemblance of composure had been completely forced and when it started to crack the conversation had ended very abruptly.

Mindy sighed again, deciding it wasn't even worth keeping up this conversation. James wanted Steve to be the watchdog because he couldn't be there with her himself and she wasn't going to argue with him about it. He was in a bad way as it was and she didn't want to make it worse by getting into any kind of argument with him.

Amber looked back and forth between Steve, her mother and Cooper, not saying anything but really not thinking that this was too bad of an idea at all. She had seen the way Cooper still looked at her mother and she did not like it one little bit. She knew that if he got half a chance he would jump her bones in a heartbeat. It was hard for him to do it as it was because Mindy was already preoccupied with her and her doctors and being on the phone with James all the time but this way, with another guy around sent to protect her, he would get even less of a chance to try any funny business. And that was perfectly fine with her.

Cooper sighed loudly and ran his hand through his hair. Well this was just great. James had Steve there to play guard dog and he was pretty sure it was just as much for him as it was Mark. This was so not fair. He knew he had fucked up royally in the past; that had been made more than clear to him over and over and over again. But James was just being ridiculous now. Mindy had wanted him to come to Texas with her. She trusted him again yet James was still treating him like the incident in the car just happened yesterday. And it was so, SO very beyond frustrating for him. James always talked about how he hadn't earned back any trust or done anything to deserve forgiveness, but at this rate, how could he? James absolutely refused to give him any opportunity to earn it and it was pissing him off. What the fuck was he going to take? Was he going to have to take a bullet for Mindy to prove himself? Because he would do it. He would do it in a fucking heartbeat.

"How are you holding up?" Steve asked Mindy as he pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed.

Mindy shrugged passively. "I'm okay." A generic answer, one that Steve definitely didn't buy but she didn't give a shit. This wasn't about her. James, Amber and Elizabeth were the important ones here, not her. That was just something Steve needed to figure out for himself.

Amber pursed her lips and grabbed on to her mother's hand and gave it a good squeeze. Mindy returned the squeeze and kissed the top of her head, just resting her lips there and letting her mind wonder to James. How was he doing? Was he holding up okay? They had found the car and he had had pictures sent to him and she felt so bad that he was there dealing with it all alone and she wasn't there to help him. He needed her, he did. Elizabeth was gone and for all they knew she was dead…she could never say anything like that to James of course. Not ever. He was suffering as it was, she didn't want to make it any worse.

"Mommy?" Amber said when she noticed the faraway look in her mother's eyes. "Mommy?"

Mindy shook her head and grabbed her phone, ignoring everyone else as she made the call she had been obsessively making ever since she had left Las Vegas.

"Hello?" James's voice betrayed just how exhausted he really was.

"Jamie!" Mindy said, which made him perk right up.

"Baby Doll!"

Cooper bit back a groan as Steve raised his eyebrows. "You might as well get comfortable with me," Cooper told him as he switched on the TV. Amber was already taking advantage of her mother's distraction to start in on her homework again. "Because she won't be getting off the phone any time soon."

"They really miss each other," Steve said as he watched Mindy for a moment.

"You have NO idea…"

…

James was on the phone with Mindy for a good two or three hours and even that didn't last long enough for him. Every second they talked he wanted to rip her back to him through the phone and when they finally had to hang up he stayed curled up on the bed for a good hour. The investigation for Elizabeth wasn't really going anywhere. They had found the car yes and they had the pictures of her but this guy was keeping himself and her so well hidden that there was no telling where they were. And that was assuming she was even still alive of course.

He didn't want to believe she was dead. That was one of the last things he ever wanted to believe. But the thought stayed with him, tormenting him and making him want to scream until he couldn't scream anymore. Elizabeth was just a baby. She was a baby she couldn't defend herself against anything the fucker did to her. What if he hurt her or…no. He couldn't fucking do this to himself again. He couldn't take it. He forced himself off the bed and he stumbled into the bathroom, where he threw off his clothes and stepped into the shower, making the water so hot that it burned him as soon as he stepped under it. He ignored the fact that his skin turned beet read pretty much instantly and he ignored the way that the steam filled the room so quick that it was almost impossible to breathe. He ignored those things and stood under that scalding water, letting it burn him as he shivered even under the heat. It hurt so bad but it felt good because it at least momentarily distracted him from everything that was going on.

He didn't have a rag to scrub himself with so he used his bandaged hand and rubbed it over himself roughly, rubbing his now red skin raw before smashing the hand against the wall as hard as he could. It hurt; it hurt so fucking bad that he yelled in pain but that didn't stop him from hitting it one more time before sinking down and just sitting there until all the hot water ran out on him.

…

"When was the last time you ate something?" Taylor asked when James finally came downstairs. His skin was still red from his scalding shower and while he was wearing baggy clothes to hide the majority of his massive frame, he couldn't hide his face, which was starting to become gaunt. The giant purple bags under his eyes weren't helping his appearance either.

James shrugged passively as he made himself some coffee. He hated the shit but he needed it. He couldn't let himself fall asleep. When he fell asleep he had nightmares and he couldn't bear another one of those. Not if he could absolutely help it.

Taylor looked at Tryg and Connor, who were both munching on cookies. Tryg was still in his Spiderman costume and Connor had painted himself green to be the Incredible Hulk, even though he was too scrawny to really be intimidating looking at all. "I could make something," she offered meekly.

"Don't bother," James told her. He poured the now finished coffee into a pink mug and took a sip of it. He grimaced at the taste but he forced himself to take another immediate sip. He needed to run to the store and stock up on energy drinks so he could drink those instead of this coffee shit. "I'm not hungry."

Taylor held in her sigh and tried to study him without him noticing her. She needed to get him to eat somehow. He really was looking like complete shit and if he hadn't been eating for as long as she thought he had then it definitely was going to start getting very unhealthy soon.

James sensed her eyes on him and quickly left the room so he could go brood in his office. "Connor, how do you think we could get your dad to eat?"

"Uh…tie him down and make him eat?" Connor suggested, causing cookie crumbs to go flying everywhere.

Taylor wrinkled her nose and shook her head. She couldn't do that. Not without like…getting killed or something. That would have to be like the absolute last resort. "Anything else you can suggest?"

"Cut open his tummy and put food in it?"

"…Just be quiet now Connor."

"Mean!"

…

Elizabeth sat on the dirty floor restlessly, her hair a mess, her face and clothes beginning to go from dirty to filthy and her body shivering as she cried apathetically. She was cold, she was tired, and she wanted her daddy and her mommy and her Lammy but they weren't there. None of them were there and it wasn't fair. She wanted them now but the man wouldn't give them back to her. He kept her all alone and it scared her. She was never alone ever. Even if Mommy and Daddy went somewhere by themselves she was always with someone she knew.

She looked over at the man, who was watching something on his computer. Then she looked to the door, which was quite a bit of ways away from her. "Dada!" She didn't understand that Daddy wasn't right behind that door and couldn't come in and save her. "Dada!"

"Ah yes…Daddy." The man got up and crouched down with his camera, taking a few more pictures of the fussy Elizabeth before scooping her up into his arms, which made her cry even more. "Let's go talk to Daddy, shall we?" He chuckled as she looked around for James before carrying her out of the room. They had a little phone call to make.


	24. Chapter 24

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: I know. It's just so sad : ( **jadeMK11**: Stone Cold's got some serious serious denial thinking Mindy is still so innocent. And XD **cathy** and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you!

…

James had picked up a new pastime for his current frustration and misery…stabbing his knife into the kitchen table over and over again. The table was made of Corian at special request of Mindy, and being that it was composed of minerals and rock James shouldn't have been able to stab through it like he'd done the other kitchen tables. He had an accidental habit of that it seemed, completely wrecking Mindy's kitchen tables. It drove her batshit insane because every time he broke the previous one he'd promised he wouldn't do it again, yet he always did. Now of all times he shouldn't have done this, but he couldn't do anything else to pass time. There was nothing he could do at all. Taylor had taken Tryg outside and Connor followed suit, leaving James alone in the house to receive a phone call which made his eyebrow rise and he didn't feel much like grabbing the cordless black device. He knew it wasn't Baby Doll, he didn't know how, but he had a way of knowing what she would call and what she wouldn't. The last place she would try to reach him is through the home line, the two of them played phone tag far more often than not back in the day so they learned not to use the main line and just go straight for cell phones. He would have to tell her he broke the table again too unless he found her interior decorator's number and made an emergency call before she got back. She wouldn't be coming back without him though, he'd fly out to Texas first to grab her and show her how much he loved her.

It ate him alive, how deeply seeded his love for the little mess of raven hair was. She would never know it either, which also devoured him because it wasn't fair. The learned helplessness made her completely vulnerable and distrusting of anyone, including him. In her heart she would always truly be alone and he didn't want it to be that way. He loved her, he needed her, and he couldn't bring himself to close his eyes for more than a second without her sleeping next to him. He hadn't gone hunting yet that was nothing new…he hadn't hunted for a long time even before she left. It was such a faint thought he didn't even realize it until now how long it'd been since he took a life. He'd told her he did it for power, to feel the rush he never got as a child but no more…she gave him that power instead. For the first time in his entire life he was truly the one empowered over his loved one. Anything he wanted was fine by her and it drove him wild. Some nights he would stay up and just kiss her for hours, but the time would fly. She looked to him to control her, touch her, do things to her, and all he really wanted was for her to love him. And she did. Despite all they'd been through nobody loved him the way she did…no one else ever would.

Admiring the tattoo on his wrist which read 'Miranda Marie', he smiled fondly at it before tracing a thumb along her name and lifting the phone off the receiver.

"Hello?"

"DA!"

James just about dropped the phone and stood from the table, digging his fingers into the table so hard they were beginning to bruise.

"LIZZIE BEAR?"

"DA DA DA!"

"LIZZIE BEAR! ELIZABETH! Baby honey, sweetheart-"

She started wailing in wheezy breaths, telling James just by the way she was breathing she had whooping cough. Mindy had gotten it a few times which let him know just how severely this baby was being neglected.

"Y-you're SICK, baby you're SICK you're SICK Lizzie Bear no!" she was an infant she couldn't get sick like that. Baby illnesses were twelve times more serious than adult ones. Clearly this fucker wasn't rushing out to get her medicine.

"Da da da da!"

"ELIZBAETH!" shaking his head and running a hand through his hair he bit down on his nails hard and shook his head frantically, "No no no no I'm so sorry, baby darling I'm so sorry I let you"

She screamed as James heard other breathing in the background which wasn't his sick infant. His teeth clenched and he balled a fist, slamming it down on the table repeatedly as Elizabeth's screams because much further away and laughing was heard in the background.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" James shrieked and almost bashed his own head into the wall, his face beet red from rage, "YOU SON OF A FUCKING BITCH! THAT'S MY BABY! YOU GOT MY BABY SICK MOTHER FUCKER YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE SO FUCKING DEAD YOU DON'T EVEN REALIZE IT!"

Silence on the other end drove James up a wall.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING! ANYTHING DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? NAME YOUR PRICE! NAME YOUR FUCKING PRICE JUST PLEASE" he completely crumbled and didn't realize how hard he was begging, "JUST GIVE ME BACK MY BABY! GIVE ME BACK MY BABY PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING! I'LL TAKE HER PLACE JUST GIVE ME BACK MY BABY!"

"What was that, Jamie?" he snorted, "Might wanna scream it a little louder you whipped bitch"

James was so delusional and rattled he couldn't process anything other than the sound of that fucker's voice and how it was going to be moaning in agony when he got his hands on him, "PLEASE! GIVE ME BACK MY BABY! I WON'T EVEN COME AFTER YOU! I SWEAR! I WON'T TOUCH YOU JUST GIVE ME BACK MY BABY! I'LL GIVE ANYTHING-"

"Anything, Jamie?" he teased with a snort, "You'll really give anything?"

"YES! YES PLEASE I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING JUST GIVE ME MY BABY!"

"DA DA DA DA DA!" Elizabeth screamed but was silenced in a way which made James's stomach flip.

"This ether stuff you know…" he snorted, "it's not so bad."

James's hand slapped over his mouth and he trembled at the idea of something used to put flies to sleep going in his baby's face until she conked out.

"STOP!" James begged and whimpered while slamming a palm into the wall, "STOP! STOP! STOP! THAT'S MY BABY DON'T HURT MY BABY!"

"We'll see about that" he hung up on him, leaving James a complete bleary-eyed mess against the wall when heavy footsteps caught his attention. Immediately his teary eyes narrowed and he growled before looking up to see Mark standing there in the doorway.

"What do YOU want?"

"Takin' care of you when SHE won't."

…

"I…" Mindy sighed while rubbing her temples and shaking her head at Trish as the two of them walked around outside the hospital. Yes, she was having a hallucination because Trish was dead. She needed the company though. Cooper was just bad news and Steve really knew how to make her feel uncomfortable and just brought back waves of memories she had completely repressed until she saw him again. As far as she was concerned there was nothing before she met James. James was her everything and he would always be so. He was her husband, the father of her children, and the love of her life. Nothing would ever replace him or even come close in her memory. There was only him. "I can't help him…" she grimaced, "I want to…" her eyes widened and she nodded at Trish, "I really want to I do honest Trisha Anne I love him so much"

"Yeah…" Trish's caramel eyes got big and she rolled them, "I'm aware, Meem…"

"Yes I know you are" nodding she pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one up, which immediately alarmed Trish.

"Since when do YOU smoke?"

"Oh Trisha Anne please" she waved her off and shook her head, "I have been smoking for almost six months now"

"Seriously?"

Mindy nodded.

"Does James know?"

"No"

"Aren't you PREGNANT?"

"Yeah…" she frowned and shrugged, "but it makes me eat less, Trisha Anne. I have to stop fucking eating everything do you see my husband? Do you see how fucking gorgeous he is? Do you have any idea what it feels like to be his fat little meatball of a wife who cannot drop weight if somebody paid her-"

"Meemsicle…" she ran a hand through her hair, "you're anorexic…you're sick"

"Am not" she shook her head and scoffed, "Shows what YOU know Trisha Anne fucking LOOK at me, okay? I NEVER had your fuckin' body and you KNOW how hard I worked at dancing and horseback riding but I ALWAYS looked fucking fat! You KNOW I only get skinny when I stop eating!"

"So giving yourself CANCER is the answer?"

"I don't CARE" she spat with a shake of the head.

"Well you care about AIDEN don't you?"

"Yes…"

"So stop fucking smoking, Meem!" she slapped the cigarette out of her sister's hand, but Mindy wrinkled her nose and tried to reach for another one.

"It is NOT something I can just KICK, Trisha Anne! I have been doing it a while now I cannot stop. It will be worse for Aiden if I do"

"Why?" Trish shrugged, "He'll get clean air?"

"Do not talk to me, Trisha Anne" scowling Mindy waved her off and tried to leave but Trish grabbed her arm.

"Stop it."

"No!"

"You're ridiculous, you know that?" Trish barred her teeth, "All bets are on James isn't HALF as worked up as you are over all this!"

"GOOD I do not want him to be! He is too sweet and perfect to ever think about me he deserves so much better!"

"You need to stop this obsessing over him" Trish wrinkled her nose and shook her head while digging her nails into Mindy's arm, "It's unhealthy the guy is a mass-murdering nutcase and you talk about him like he's Jesus"

"JESUS ISN'T REAL!"

"YOU KNOW what I meant, Meem!"

"NO! I DID NOT!"

"STOP BEING DIFFICULT!"

"HOW can I do that, Trisha Anne?" shaking her head and running a hand through her hair Mindy began to cry, "Jamie may not fucking need me but I NEED HIM! What am I gonna do? IGNORE the fact that I miss him or want to be beautiful for him? LOOK AT HIM! LOOK AT ME! Thank GOD our babies do not look like me! I feel BAD for them if they do!"

"So why don't you eat NOW when he's not gonna see you and smoke it all off once you see him again?"

Mindy shook her head and just glared at the ground, which annoyed Trish greatly.

"Oh yeah, just ignore me Meem! That's ALWAYS the best decision Meem! You're just SO fucking smart, aren't you?"

"STOP IT! STOP IT STOP IT!" with a stamp of her foot and a scream Mindy was off.

Running a hand through her hair and sniffling Mindy tore down any side street she could, growling and shaking her head at the audacity on Trish's part. She didn't want to hear her talk; she didn't ever want to hear her talk. James fucking killed her and she couldn't be any happier if she tried that he did so. She wouldn't care if he knifed the world they all deserved to die…even her. After screaming she slammed her fists to a building wall and rested her back against it because she didn't know what to do next. One of her kids was sick in the hospital with cancer, the other was missing, and her husband was in another state all by himself. She hated everything and couldn't talk to anyone about it. Nobody would listen if she did because no one cared. She didn't matter, James did. How she felt was insignificant because she was James's baby girl. James lost his baby and she couldn't do anything about it, not even pop out another one. She was essentially becoming a brood mare for the next generation of Lawson psychopaths but for James? She would do anything.

Shedding a few bitter tears because she missed her husband so much she turned a corner and a wooden cane hooked around her neck, ripping her to the ground like a calf and knocking her out. The back of her head bled as she was lifted as if weightless and stuffed into a sack like a cat, tied up and slung over his shoulder.


	25. Chapter 25

**Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: The sicko's nuts definitely need to go. And Mark really doesn't know shit; he just wants to maneuver himself back into a vulnerable James's life. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: We'll be getting that answer in this chapter. Either way, it's NOT good news for her.

…

James shook his head and took a few steps back. Mark was just standing there, watching him carefully with narrowed eyes. "You gotta go," he said, having this really horrible feeling in his stomach that that wasn't going to really work on Mark. He looked bound and determined to not go anywhere even if he wasn't welcomed here. "I gotta call Baby Doll-"

"You need to call the cops," Mark stated bluntly. He had heard pretty much all of James's screaming; it wouldn't be a shock if the entire neighborhood had heard him. "That fucker called you, you need to let the authorities know so they can fucking tap your phone in case he calls back again."

Logically speaking, Mark was absolutely right. That was what needed to be done. But James couldn't even begin to think logically. His mind was racing and going in so many directions he couldn't even begin to really focus properly. His daughter screams were echoing in his mind and it was killing him beyond the telling of it. And who did he want to somehow make it all better? Mindy of course. Even though there was really nothing she could do he needed to talk to her. Their baby was sick…their precious Elizabeth was sick they had to find her. That bastard wasn't going to make sure she got better they had to find her they did.

"God damn it Lawson," Mark said as James struggled to get a hold of his cell phone. His hands were shaking so much that he couldn't keep them steady at all. "Are you even listening to me?" Stupid question, one that was answered with James ignoring him and attempting to dial Mindy's number. Before he could control his fingers enough to actually press the buttons properly though, Mark had grabbed his wrists and was squeezing them so tight that he left finger shaped bruises behind. "Lawson! Fucking listen to me damn it!"

"Let me go!" James tried to yank himself out of Mark's grasp, which only made the other man tighten his grip. James tried to hide his wince but he couldn't. Mark was squeezing him way way too tightly and it fucking hurt. It was fucking hurting when the fuck did Mark get this strong? As James was wondering if Mark was on roids or something, it didn't really occur to him that he was getting weaker from his extreme lack of eating. "Mark stop it!"

"Then listen to me damn it." James was being ridiculous and he wasn't going to put up with it.

"No-OW!" Mark had just twisted his wrists really hard. "Mark stop it! Jesus fucking Christ!"

"I'll stop when you stop," Mark replied as he gave James a good hard shake. He couldn't just coddle James and let him fucking run around like a chicken with his head cut off. Mindy had done that by leaving him all alone and now he was going to try to clean up the mess she had left behind. "I don't want to hurt you but you have to fucking pull yourself together. You think this is going to help Elizabeth? You think this is going to bring her back?" Mark waited but he wasn't getting anything from James. He was just trembling and muttering something under his breath that couldn't really be understood. "Call the cops Lawson. I know you don't trust them for shit but they can tap your phone and shit so if he calls again they can fucking try to find out where he is."

"Too much time," James said under his breath. He was trying to somehow get out of Mark's grip and finally succeeded it by kicking Mark in the knee. His wrists were so sore and the bruises on him were already turning really ugly. "There's not enough time! What if he don't call back? Or what if Lizzie dies before then? She's fucking sick! She's fucking sick she's never sick I gotta fucking go!"

"Go where Lawson?" Mark grabbed James's arm to stop him from just running off. "Do you have any idea where to start looking? Or are you going off to call HER?"

"It's not your business!" James informed him. He yanked his arm out of Mark's grip and shook his head. "And why do you suddenly care? Is it because she's not here? You wanna swoop back in and get back with me?"

"I'm here to take care of you Lawson," Mark said, making sure to get in James's way when he tried to leave. "Look at you! You're a wreck! And where is she? She leaves you here all alone to deal with this shit."

"She had to go! She had to take care of Amber!"

"She couldn't do that here?" Mark wasn't about to back off this subject for a second. "There are hospitals here Lawson that could have taken great care of Amber. They could have helped her gone better and SHE could have fucking stayed here with you. Her child is missing what the fuck is she doing running off to Texas?"

"You're questioning her parenting skills?" James said incredulously. "YOU of all people-"

"Hey, my kids have never turned up missing-"

"Cooper was missing for MONTHS one time and YOU never gave a shit!" Score one James. "Texas is the best place for Amber right now."

"And what about what's best for you Lawson? Huh? Is it best for you to be all alone and waste away from the stress?"

"Since when do you care about me?"

"You're fucking wasting away! She's letting you waste-"

"NO SHE'S NOT!" James was ready to rip his own hair out he was so frustrated. "Just GO! Leave me ALONE!"

"James did she even talk to you about going to Texas before she decided it?" Mark asked coolly. "I mean really, did she even bother to run that by you before she decided it?"

"You gotta leave," James snarled, motioning angrily towards the door. "Fucking go. Just fucking go."

Mark tilted his head to the side and studied James in a way that made him feel completely uncomfortable and then made a move that completely surprised him; he backed off. "Fine. Whatever you say Lawson." He started walking off, moving backwards so his back wouldn't actually be to James. "I'll be back later though."

"You fucking better not-"

"Someone around here needs to make sure you're taken care of, don't they?"

James clenched his fists and stood there a confused, manic fuming mess until he heard Mark leave. Then he collapsed down into the nearest chair and called Mindy. He didn't even give his actions a second thought; he needed Mindy there but she couldn't be there so he had to hear her voice. That would at least be better than nothing.

The only problem was, Mindy didn't answer her phone. He waited and waited but the phone just kept ringing and eventually went to voicemail. "Baby Doll?" James bit at his nails compulsively because he didn't know what to do with himself. "Baby Doll please pick up. I gotta talk to you please…please Baby Doll?" He waited, hoping and praying that she would answer the phone and talk to him. When she didn't he very reluctantly hung up and stared around the room helplessly. He didn't know where to start. He had to find Elizabeth but he didn't know where to start looking. He had to get the locks changed but he didn't know where the phone book was to call the locksmith or whatever. The cops did needed to be called but what the fuck good was that going to do? They hadn't fucking found her yet and what if they never did? This guy was a fucking ghost. A ghost that got his baby sick. She was sick she was sick she was sick-that was the only thing he could focus on. He had to do something instead of just sitting here…

"_DA DA DA!"_

"_What was that Jamie? Might wanna scream it a little louder you whipped bitch."_

"_DA DA DA DA DA!"_

"_This ether stuff you know…it's not so bad."_

James was suddenly back on his feet and he grabbed the chair next to him, picking it up and swinging it against the wall as hard as he possibly could. He put everything he had into it, screaming at the top of his lungs and scaring the fuck out of Taylor, Connor and Tryg, who had come in to get something to drink. Even if he had known he had scared them though, he wouldn't have been able to care right at that moment. He was too focused on taking out every moment of fear, anger and frustration out on that wall, imagining that it was the guy's face he was beating to a bloody pulp. That bastard…oh that fucking bastard…words wouldn't do justice to what he wanted to do to him. That man took his baby and he would destroy him. He would fucking annihilate him…and he would enjoy every fucking second of doing it.

…

"Mom?" Cooper called out as he walked towards the bathroom. She was supposed to have gone there and when she didn't return at first he and Steve had thought she was finally breaking down and crying and had tried to be respectful and keep their distance. She seemed so adamant to hold it all in even though she didn't need to that they hadn't wanted to stop her if she was finally letting it all out. It wasn't healthy for her to be holding it in so much. Given the circumstances, she had the right to bawl like a baby. So they had let her be for awhile but now Cooper was going to check on her and make sure she was alright. "Mom?" He knocked on the bathroom door and glanced around at the doctors and nurses not giving him a second look as they walked down the hallway. "Mom?"

He wasn't getting any kind of answer, which made him start to feel pretty apprehensive. "Mom?" Deciding the risk was worth it, he grabbed the door handle and twisted it, opening the door and poking his head in there. "Mom?" There wasn't any sign of her in there. "Mommy?" He went all the way in, checking every nook and cranny of the room, his heart sinking when he found no trace of her. "Oh no…" He exited the bathroom and looked around, trying to decide what to do. He almost went to tell Steve but then decided against it for the moment. Steve was watching over the kids, who were all awake and didn't need to overhear him saying that Mindy couldn't be found. That would just make them all upset, which was not what he wanted to do.

"Excuse me?" Cooper decided to go to the group of nurses that were talking nearby. "Have you seen my mom anywhere?" Everyone here knew he was Mindy's stepson so he didn't have to clarify anymore of that.

They all shook their heads. "No. Is she not with you?"

"She was supposed to be in the bathroom," Cooper said, his stomach now twisting in a way he did not care for at all. "But she's not there. We gotta find her." He wasn't giving these nurses any kind choice but to help him. There was no way he had time to search this entire place by himself and there was no way he wanted to do so. That would just take way too long.

"We will sweetheart," one of the younger nurses quickly assured him. She was blonde and probably in her early to mid-twenties and he was sure she had a crush on him because every time he saw her she was making googly eyes at him. "I'm sure she's around here somewhere."

_She better be…or we're going to have major MAJOR problem…_

…

"Guys don't bug him," Taylor pleaded with Tryg and Connor. They were all up in the locksmith's business, asking questions and trying to touch his tools as he changed the locks on the doors. "Leave him be, we're not paying him to get bugged by you."

"We're not bugging him!" Connor claimed defensively. He looked down at Tryg for support. For the moment they were getting along the way they used to before Connor's dislike for Mindy split them apart. "Tell her Tryggy!"

"We're just watching him," Tryg said, putting on a sweet innocent face that didn't fool Taylor because she was wise to his act. "We are. We want to know how he does it, honest."

As Taylor shook her head and kept trying to get the boys out of the way, James was up in the upstairs hallway, pacing back and forth wildly and making yet another phone call to Mindy's phone. He had called her a dozen times already but he hadn't been getting any kind of answer from her and it was scaring him to death. She never went this long without calling him back. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his gut and it was tearing him up. "Baby Doll please, please pick up…"

She didn't pick up though and now her voicemail was full so he couldn't leave her another message. "Fuck!" He hung up the phone and shook his head before going down the stairs, hopping the rail halfway down because the boys were doing something and blocking the bottom of the staircase. He needed to call Steve but he couldn't fucking remember his number. The one he had in his phone was Steve's old number and he needed the new one, which was written on a piece of paper somewhere. He had meant to put it in his phone but then it had slipped his mind. "Be in here be in here…" He went into his office and started searching all over the place, getting more and more frustrated when he didn't find it. "Fuck!" He decided to just say to hell with it and he called Cooper's number instead-and of course he didn't get an answer there.

"What the fuck is going on?" He was so frustrated that he was just about to toss his phone across the room when it rang and made him stop in his tracks. His heart leapt up in his chest when he saw Mindy's number flash across the screen and he answered it before the second ring could even be complete. "Baby Doll!"

"…Wow you really are pathetic, aren't you James?"

James's eyes just about popped out of his head. "How did you that phone?"

"How the fuck do you think?" There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh and then Mindy screamed.

And that was when James felt his heart literally stop.


	26. Chapter 26

**Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you! **Isle'sPurpleSummer**: Nope. It be Mr. Kidnapper. **jadeMK11**: Yep, he brought Lizzie down to Texas because he was following Mindy. And Mindy snuck off by herself, so there was no Stone Cold to go through. All he had to do was snatch her.

…

Mindy could only stare doe-eyed with her back against the wall at the encroaching man. She had tried to run, but was chained to the wall around her neck like a dog with a heavy lock hanging from the collar. All her clothing had been removed and she just hugged herself, shivering like crazy and darting her big blue eyes about the darkness. She was under a staircase concealed behind a door which literally blended in with the wood when closed, she assumed and doorknob had been removed but she was there. She woke up to being smacked around and violently stripped naked by this crazy son of a bitch. Her wedding rings had been twisted off her fingers and all she could do was stare at the bare finger with her wedding date tattooed where the diamond-encrusted bands were supposed to be. James's name was also tattooed on her wrist which felt her feel slightly less horrified because his mark was still on her.

"Rise and shine, pretty lady…" he said while shining a flashlight in her face, but being undoped made the light seem to make her think she was being fried and she screamed at the top of her lungs, doubling over and sobbing loudly. Her entire body contorted into a ball as she sat there and her knees pulled up to her chest from fright.

"No!" she cried out and shook her head, "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO"

"SHUT the hell up!" by the chain around her neck he easily whipped her little body to the ground and ripping her head up by her hair so she could look him in the eye, "You don't like that, now do you?"

With bleary eyes she gave him a look of confusion.

"That's how you celebrity bitches are…" he nodded and dropped so he could whisper into her ear, "prance around like the pretty little showhorse you are with your titties hangin' out" reaching down he squeezed one of her breasts and she violently fought against it, "to remind good old boys like me that we can never fuck you hard and play with your tight little pussy…or make you suck on our cocks so hard you choke…" grabbing her wrist he flipped it over and dug his fingers into the tattoo, "but not our JAMIE, right? Not our darling perfect JAMIE, no! We'll fuck him all day and if he ain't there we'll play with ourselves pretending he is because we LOVE him, don't we showhorse?"

Though she wasn't supposed to she looked him in the eye and nodded.

"We LOVE our Jamie, don't we showhorse?"

Sniffling she nodded.

"I know how much you like to suck his cock…" he nodded while dipping her head back and running his fingers along her gritted teeth, "Yeah I've seen you do it. You get all smiley dropping down on your knees to suck him so good…" feeling hard already he pulled his cock out of his pants for her and she grimaced while trying to turn her head away, "Awww what's wrong, showhorse? I'm nice and hard for you, see?" he nodded and ripped her hand forwards despite her protests to run over his cock, little did she see the tripod set up in the doorway zoomed in on her body in particular, "See that showhorse?" he tried to close her fingers around it but with a snap of her teeth she made him back a step, "What? I'm not big enough for you, showhorse? Is that your problem? I'm not big and hard enough for you like your pretty fucking husband? He fucks you like his fucking whore and you're spoiled now, right showhorse? A spoiled pretty little brat who only likes to suck big hard cocks…"

She sniffled and hugged her hand close, wiping it on the floor to try and ignore what he just made her do.

"Well that's right, you don't have to suck me yet…I'll get a little harder for you, how does that sound?"

She spat his way though he ignored it.

"I want you…to show me your teeth" he nodded while wrapping a hand around the base of his cock to get ready and she pouted her lips in confusion at that, "you TEETH showhorse show me your pretty teeth!"

Immediately she shook her head when he grabbed a gun and beat her with the butt of it, causing her to let out a shriek.

"SHOW ME YOUR TEETH SHOWHORSE! YOUR TEETH!"

"NO!"

WHACK! In the back of her neck he hit her now followed by a punch below her eye and she shrieked, so he lifted her head all the way back and forced her lips apart so her teeth showed and he began to stroke himself inches from her face.

"Oh yeah…that's it showhorse…" he nodded, "smile bigger for me come on…"

Sniffling she actually forced a smile so her teeth were gritted and he gasped while stroking himself harder.

"Oh fuck that's it…wider, pretty little showhorse smile bigger for it! Show me your teeth come on show me your teeth!"

With no other choice she tried to make her teeth as visible as possible and he nodded along.

"Neigh for me, showhorse! COME ON! NEIGH!"

Trembling and having no other choice she appeased while holding her mouth still locked in the teeth-bearing position, "Neigh! Neigh!"

"LOUDER SHOWHORSE LOUDER!"

"NEIGH! NEIGH!" she coughed and kept trying to appease when he nodded and rested his cock to her lips.

"Come on pretty little showhorse suck me I'm hard for you, suck me come on! Pretend I'm your Jamie suck me so good"

Her teeth snapped his way and he backed up while shaking his head with a scowl.

"Fuckin' cunt. Still not good enough for you, huh? Well let me find something nice and hard for you to suck on…" leaving a moment he came back in with a shotgun and she stared at it with wide eyes and trembled, "See this, showhorse?" drearily she nodded, "THIS…is your husband now" he ran the barrel along her lips and she twitched, "Why don't you give him a little kiss, huh? Kiss it. Kiss it or I'll blow your fucking face off"

Swallowing hard she gave it a little kiss and he stared at her as if that were nothing and scoffed.

"That it, showhorse? That's all your can do?" shaking his had he slammed the gun against her teeth and she yelped in pain, "Come on, I know you can do better than that…I've seen that mouth of yours go I know what you can do…"

Reluctantly she gave it a better kiss though still it wasn't satisfying him.

"Maybe you don't wanna suck yet…" trailing the gun between her breasts and down her stomach he opened her legs and she screamed to try and get him off when he slammed a needle into her thigh and injected it so she went limp, "let's warm up that tight little pussy instead…"

She let out a squeaky croak when the cold metal of the gun slipped between her legs and was rammed so far up she cried, dropping her eyes to the side as he quickly slid the gun in and out while stroking himself faster.

"Oh that's it…I know how much you love big hard things in your pussy…makes you so wet, huh? Makes you so hot and wet for your husband…" he began thrusting the barrel of the gun slower, "I want to see you ride him, showhorse. Ride your husband's big hard cock for me"

Whimpering she shook her head.

"What? You want him harder?"

"No…"

"You want him harder and deeper, showhorse?"

"No…!"

"Mmmm you should have said something" he thrust harder and faster until she screamed so loud blood dripped from between her legs and he withdrew the gun to bring it back to her mouth, "I bet you're ready to suck him now, right showhorse? I bet you want your boyfriend in your mouth right now so you can suck on him and lick him all fucking night long…You love sucking out all his cum you dirty little bitch. I've never seen a pretty little showhorse suck cum out the way you do…he must be such a lucky guy, right? You city bitches hate that shit but not YOU no…he cums and you only want more"

Sniffling with trembling lips she watched as he slid the barrel of the gun into her mouth and began slowly thrusting it while resting his fingers against the trigger.

"I'll fuckin' blow his brains out if you don't start sucking his cock like the dirty little showhorse you are…with that amazing mouth that sucks and swallows all that cum of his… Why don't you show me how you do it, showhorse? Put out for me, show me just what that mouth does to suck your Jamie to the point that you turn his cock into a straw for that cum?"

Sniffling in dismay she dropped her eyes so she didn't have to realize she was looking at him and that he was watching her and slowly she began to suck on the gun.

"Ohhh fuck that's it…" he began thrusting into his own hand he was so entranced, "you suck him, pretty little showhorse, you suck him fucking good for me…let me see you add some tongue, lick his cock too, showhorse that's not all you do…"

Reluctantly her tongue darted out and for a fleeting moment she closed her eyes and actually pretended that it was James, which sent him over the edge and he came hard all over her face. Immediately she ripped her head off the gun and almost threw up from disgust.

"Ohhh FUCK that is hot…that is so fucking hot showhorse" he moved her face covered in his seed closer to the camera, "look how good you look covered in my cum, you pretty little showhorse. Oh fuck you're fucking covered you look so hot…"

Tears were streaming down her face and she shook her head as he stared at her in astonishment.

"What? You mean you're not done, showhorse?"

Immediately she shook her head to deny that.

"You're not done sucking cock? You want mine too?"

"No"

"I should have known better with you, showhorse" he nodded and opened her mouth before thrusting his cock inside, "You're never finished I shoulda known"

She gagged from trying to fight him so hard and she wanted to bite him but he was holding her throat so hard it hurt.

"Oh yeah…oh fuck showhorse that's a good girl…that's my good girl sucking my cock so good…" he nodded and moaned while thrusting faster, "fuck you're tight…that throat of yours is just so fucking tight…fuck" thrusting faster he moaned, "yes yes yes showhorse fucking suck me"

She batted him off and gagged on the floor, being smacked upside the head and dragged around the floor by her hair.

"Oh I'm sorry showhorse, was that not what you wanted right now? Do you want MORE?"

"NO!"

"Do you want MORE, showhorse?"

"No!"

"Oh I bet you do…" he nodded with a chuckle, "if you ever wanna see your Lizzie Bear I bet you do"

Her eyes widened and he nodded.

"Yeah…I got your kid if you cooperate with me."

Immediately she flopped onto her back and simply gave up, knowing the ball was entirely in his court and if she ever wanted to see her daughter again she was going to have to play by his rules and standards. She wanted to die with every single disgusting thrust into her but at this point it didn't matter. The only person who mattered was Elizabeth and there wasn't a thing she wouldn't do for this fuck to ensure her safety. Her own body was useless it was a nothing, but that baby was everything and he even released inside her which made her truly have a conniption.

"Good girl…" getting off her and leaving her there for the camera he left the room and brought in the gagging screaming Elizabeth, "shut it up before I shut her up permanently."

"LIZZIE BEAR" screaming Mindy ripped the baby from his arms and she stopped crying, and the world melted away for mother and daughter as he slammed the door to lock them in the dark.


	27. Chapter 27

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Oh this guy has no idea what kind of trouble that will be heading his way once James gets his hands on him. It'll be all kinds of brutal. **Esha Napoleon**: Vermi really does have a flair for the brutality, doesn't she? **cathy**: I know, I feel so horrible for her : ( **jadeMK11**: Ohhh yeah he has NO idea how dead he is. He's messing with the wrong people.

…

_The first thing James saw when he opened his eyes was his wife and daughter both snuggled up on his chest and still fast asleep. He immediately smiled at the sight and just watched them for the longest time. Elizabeth was clutching Lammy tightly, her lips resting on the stuffed animal's face so she could begin to nom on it as soon as she woke up. Meanwhile Mindy had her head resting on his chest, her ear pressed up against him so she could hear his heart beating. Her long raven hair was spilling all over the place and he played with it gently, moving it out of the way so he could see her face better. As much as he would never be a morning person, he loved waking up before she did just so he could watch her sleep._

"_I love you Baby Doll," he said softly. He gently kissed the top of her head and she mumbled something under her breath before burrowing her head even more into his chest. He chuckled lightly at that, his fingers now tracing a path up and down her bare arm. Little goosebumps rose up on her arm and that made him only touch her more, his fingers gradually tracing a path to her bare breasts, circling her nipples until they became hardened little nubs. He knew she did things to him in his sleep; she told him all about it later on, usually when they were having sex. Knowing about them later always made him wish he would wake up when she was doing it. He was absolutely addicted to contact with her. It didn't matter whether he was touching her or she was touching him; he just needed to feel her all the time. _

_Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open a bit and she looked right to James, smiling at him and making him smile even more. "Hi Lizzie," he cooed quietly. _

"_Da!" She rolled over and crawled up him, giving him a very slobbery kiss and laughing when he kissed her back._

"_I love you Lizzie Bear," he said, smoothing down her blonde locks and chuckling when she started to chew on Lammy. "Scarlett and Thorn want to go to the park today and I was thinking of seeing if Mommy will make a picnic again so we have stuff to eat when we go. You like the sound of that Lizzie?"_

_Elizabeth cooed and James immediately showered her with kisses, making her squeal in delight. "Sssshhh Lizzie. Mommy's sleeping." James looked back at Mindy and saw that she had yet to stir. "You think I should have some fun with Mommy?"_

"_Ma ma ma!"_

_James decided to just take that as a yes. He kissed Elizabeth's forehead one last time and then carefully got her in the bassinet so she could rest in there with Lammy. Mindy was still fast asleep and James grinned, gently kissing her neck while one of his hands drifted down to in between her legs. "I love you Baby Doll." No matter how many times he said it he was compelled to say it even more. "I love you." He kissed her some more and rubbed her already wet heat with two of his fingers, her soft sleepy moans making his cock twitch and harden automatically. "I love you…"_

James blinked back his tears furiously, some of them falling despite his best efforts. He had never been a religious man (it had been vehemently discouraged when he was growing up and never found it later in life) but he was praying now. He was sitting on a private plane that was heading straight to Texas and he was praying because he didn't know what else to do. The fucking dead man walking had Mindy. He had his fucking wife he had his Baby Doll on top of having his daughter. He was so fucking enraged that he didn't even know what to do or think. His world had been completely ripped away from him. And for what? What was the point in all of this? At first everyone's first thought it had been about money but that hadn't been it at all. No, it was much more personal. This fucker had taunted him with his sick daughter and then revealed that he had his wife before just hanging up, not realizing the state of mind he had sent James in.

To say he had lost it would be putting it lightly. The homicidal side of him that had been sated by Mindy's love was roaring louder than ever. The two members of his family that had him by his heart had been taken from him and he was absolutely terrified for them but also beyond furious. It didn't matter what this fucker wanted or what his motivation was. James just did not give a flying fuck anymore (not that he gave much of one in the first place). He had taken his daughter and his PREGNANT wife…his pregnant wife…not only were Mindy and Elizabeth in danger but now his unborn baby was as well.

He buried his face in his hands and took several deep breaths, losing his composure within seconds and letting out harsh sobs. This was his fault. First he had failed Elizabeth by getting drunk of his ass and being passed out while she was taken and then he had wallowed in the grief of losing her instead of hunting this guy down. It didn't matter now that he had had nowhere to really look back then and no way of knowing what the fuck this man was going to do next; he should have still done something instead of just letting him run free. By doing that he had damned his wife to being taken as well and he couldn't stand it. He couldn't fucking stand it. Even if she never believed it she was his world. He loved her beyond the telling of her. He was obsessed with her. People said obsession was a bad thing but he didn't think so. Not when it came to her. He was in love and obsessed and he had failed her and it was killing him.

"_Jamie!" Mindy squealed as he tickled her ribs mercilessly. They were both half naked on their bed, although with the way she was wriggling around she was going to fall out of her bra very very soon. "Stop it that's not fair! You're cheating!"_

"_All's fair in love and war Baby Doll," he replied. He continued his tickling onslaught, making her shriek loudly. _

"_Jamie!" Suddenly her legs were around his neck and she had him in a head scissors. "Gotcha!"_

"_Oh no, how should I ever escape from this?" he asked in mock concern. He pretended to think really hard for a few seconds before attempting to pin her but she reversed it and pinned his shoulders to the bed, letting out a victory cry and making him laugh loudly._

He banged his head back hard, biting down on his hand to try to stifle his sobs. He had barricaded himself in the airplane bathroom so he could have some privacy during his flight to Texas. As soon as the guy had disconnected the call he had flew out of the house, not even letting Taylor, Tryg and Connor know where he was going. Maybe that hadn't been a great thing to do but it wasn't like Taylor wouldn't be able to figure it out. Knowing the way the media was, they probably had already jumped all over the story and were broadcasting it everywhere. It pissed him off because Mindy was his wife yet they were just going to turn her disappearance into a fucking spectacle. And it was fucking bullshit. He heard her scream she was in danger and he had to fucking find her.

He turned on the sink and rinsed his face off, trying to get a hold of himself even though it was nearly impossible. His Baby Doll and Lizzie Bear needed him. He had to find them and save them and find this asshole and fucking slaughter him. He could barely focus he could barely even contain himself but he had to fucking try. He had to do it for them. He had already failed them both he couldn't afford to do it again. _Not ever again…_

…

"How the hell could you let her out of your sight? What the hell is the matter with you? Jesus fucking Christ Cooper!"

Cooper winced and held the phone away from his ear. He was catching a fuck load of hell from Taylor and the volume of her voice was making his ears ring. "You don't think I feel like shit?" he asked, trying to step away from the pandemonium that had broken out since it had been discovered that Mindy was missing. "You don't think-"

"It don't matter what I think or don't think!" Taylor snapped. She was pacing back and forth wildly, not sure about what the hell to do. She, Tryg and Connor had come back inside to find James gone and it wasn't until they turned on the TV and saw the breaking news that they knew why. Tryg had gone into hysterics because not only did he find out his mother had gone missing, but some of the wolves were already speculating that she was maybe even dead. Nobody was even questioning whether the same guy who took Elizabeth took her. There was no way Mindy Stratus's daughter got kidnapped and then Mindy herself turned up missing without there being a connection. There was just no way that was possible in anyone's mind. "Dad is gone Cooper. He left-"

"And is probably on his way here," Cooper concluded with a wince. That was a very terrifying thought. He didn't even want to think about what was going through James's head now and he really REALLY didn't want to think about what James was going to do when he did get there. He actually wanted to just drop everything and run. James was going to go absolutely nuts when he got there. Given the fact that he and Steve were in charge of her, there was pretty much a guarantee that they were going to end up dying painfully because they "let her get taken". Never mind the fact that they had no way of knowing that this prick was going to be there to snatch her. They had been thinking more along the lines of Mark coming in and pulling shit…then again, even in that retrospect, letting her go off by herself even if it was just to the bathroom wasn't the smartest idea they ever had. _We are so fucked…_

"What the hell should I do?" Taylor asked, pulling Cooper out of his thoughts. "I mean do I bring Tryg and Connor there to be with you guys? Do we stay here?" She was biting at her nails nervously. She honestly did not know what the hell would be best in this situation. If it was just her she would have been on the next plane out to Texas to see if there was anything she could do to find Mindy but with Tryg and Connor she had to think about the both of them too.

"Honestly?" Cooper sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I think the further away from Dad you are, the better."

"How bad is he going to be?"

"I don't even want to imagine…" _And unfortunately, I'll see it for myself…_ "just tell Connor that I love him and I'll have someone call you later if I can't do it myself." He hung up on that, clutching his phone tightly and staring at the clock on the wall. It was all a matter of time before James showed up.

And then all hell would break loose.

…

The instant the plane landed James was off it and he hopped in a rental car and took off, so frantic and out of his mind he inadvertently took a couple wrong turns on his way to the hospital. "Fuck fuck fuck FUCK!" He hit the steering wheel with every scream he let out. He pressed on the gas harder and got back on the right road. He really really had no business driving around given just how unhinged he had become mentally; he was a horrible danger to himself and everyone else unlucky enough to be out on the road with him. But he didn't have a choice. He didn't have anyone else with him to drive him and he hadn't been able to wait on a cab. That would take too much time he didn't have.

"_Daddy you know this is illegal," Amber commented with a fond grin. She was watching James and Mindy, her father having just pulled her mother into the driver's seat with him and was having her take the wheel while he controlled the pedals. _

"_So is murder," Mindy pointed out, smiling when James wrapped his arms around her waist and snuggled against her. "But that don't stop Daddy."_

"_Nope," James confirmed. He pressed on the brakes as they approached a stop sign. "You see, with the last name Lawson, you make the law…son."_

_Mindy and Amber exchanged incredulous looks before Mindy howled with laughter and Amber shook her head. "That's horribly corny Daddy," she informed him._

_James pouted his lips. "Mommy thinks it's funny."_

"_Because it's that bad."_

"_Oh yeah? What about it Baby Doll? Do you think it's bad?"_

A loud blaring horn got James's attention and that was when he realized that he had accidentally driven into the lane of oncoming traffic. "FUCK!" He swerved back into his lane just in time, this grip on the wheel getting even tighter and making it feel like his fingers were about to break at any second. His heart was pounding wildly inside of his chest and he shook his head. _Stop it,_ he scolded himself. _Stop it you can't fucking do this! Fucking just drive come on fucking drive!_

His phone suddenly rang and he blindly grabbed it from where it was resting on the passenger's seat. "Hello?"

"Where are you?" It was the man again.

"Where the fuck are THEY?" James asked frantically. "Where are they? Where do you have them?" All these questions were coming out so fast he was stumbling over the words.

"Why would I tell you?" the man replied calmly. "What purpose would that serve? That would end our fun way too soon."

"Fun?" James shook his head in disbelief. "You fucking took my wife and child! What the FUCK-"

"Could be fun about this? The man chuckled, the sound of it making James clench his teeth tightly. "Well you'll get the answer to that once you tell me where you are." His answer to that was stony silence. "Are you still in Vegas? Or did you come rushing down to Texas?" More silence on James's part. "Mr. Lawson, considering who I have at my mercy, I don't think it's a good idea for you to annoy me by being difficult."

"…Texas." James didn't want to say it but he really didn't have a choice in the matter. This guy had a big time advantage over him and the smug bastard knew it.

"What was that?"

"Texas."

"No, I'm sorry I can't hear you properly." He was toying with James big time and loving every second of it. "That's not good. Maybe I should hang up-"

"Texas! I'm in fucking Texas!" James almost lost control of the car without even realizing it.

"Okay." The man took a deep breath. "So what's your big plan Mr. Lawson? Go to the hospital your dear Baby Doll was supposed to be at with dear sick Amber? You going to look for clues? Because you won't find any. Your dear wife was kind enough to stray away from the place and I didn't even snatch her from there."

"I want her back," James said, shaking his head and barely able to stop himself from crushing the phone with his bare hand. "Give me her and Lizzie back please. Please they didn't do anything to you-"

"How do you know? You don't know anything about me. Now fucking quit whining for two seconds and listen to me. Forget going to that hospital for five seconds, your other brats can wait. Go to the Starlight Motel just outside of Houston and go straight to Room 13. There will be a key under the doormat for you to get in and inside will be a present for you."

"I don't want to play a fucking game here," James said, his whole body trembling he was so furious. "I want-"

"You don't go, they'll die. You've got a half hour." There was nothing but dial tone after that, making James scream in frustration as he tried to figure out just where the hell that damn motel was.

…

James managed to find the motel with five minutes to spare, nearly knocking down an elderly man as he rushed to the room and found the key under the doormat and going inside. He looked around the dim crappy room frantically, searching the entire thing on the faint hope that Mindy and Elizabeth had been left here. There was no sign of them though. The only thing he found was a video tape sitting on the bed and he eyed the thing warily. He didn't know what was on it and he had a feeling he didn't want to know.

His phone rang again and he whipped it out so fast that he dropped it on his foot. "Damn it!" He picked it up and quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"You at the hotel?"

"Yes I fucking am." James started pacing around like a caged animal, the hand that wasn't holding the phone clenching and unclenching in a fist over and over again.

"Good. Pop in the tape on the bed and watch it."

"I want to talk to them."

"Excuse me?"

"My wife and daughter! I need to talk to them!"

"Put in the tape first."

"Let me know they're alive first." James just could not even stomach playing along with this guy until he knew that Mindy and Elizabeth were still there.

"…Fine. I guess that won't hurt." There was the sound of footsteps and then the sound of Elizabeth crying. "Say hello to Jamie!"

"DA DA DA!" Elizabeth shrieked while Mindy just screamed. The sound of it was a knife to James's heart. He could hear Elizabeth coughing violently from her own scream and Mindy sounded positively unhinged; the asshole wasn't giving her her medication which meant she was not only at his mercy but the mercy of her schizophrenia as well.

"There!" There was the sound of a door slamming shut. "You happy now?"

"Give them back," James pleaded. "Please, take me instead please just let them go-"

"Put in the tape Mr. Lawson."

"Please-"

"Put in the tape and watch the whole thing or I will go back in there and make your wife watch as I kill your little Lizzie Bear." The guy's tone was changing, becoming far less patient and a lot more angry. "Do NOT test me unless you want to find your daughter's head on a fucking stake!"

"Okay okay!" James snatched the tape and turned on the TV and popped it in as fast as he could. His hands were shaking so bad that it was hard for him to do anything but he forced the tape in anyway and pressed play. "It's in don't fucking hurt her please!"

"Put it on speaker so I can hear it going."

James did it and backed up, the color leaving his face when he saw that the tape contained footage of his wife naked and chained to a wall. The guy was shining a flashlight right in her face and the image of him was already burning itself into James's mind. He was getting a good look at the dead man who had taken his Baby Doll and Lizzie Bear. The little ugly toad who had no fucking idea how fucking dead he was…

"_NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO"_

"_SHUT the hell up!"_

James's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as the man ripped her to the ground by the chain around her neck. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he yelled as the man laughed on the other end of the phone. "What are you doing don't fucking do that!"

"I already did it," the man replied. "This was the fun the pretty showhorse and I had earlier."

James shook his head in denial and stared at the TV screen as the guy actually addressed his wife as "showhorse" and started saying shit to her that he had no fucking right to say. "Oh my god…" He shook his head in denial as the guy actually pulled his dick out and tried to make her touch it. "What the fuck are you doing? Fucking stop! Stop it stop it stop it!"

"I think you're forgetting that this is already done."

James wasn't listening. His attention was glued to the screen because this was all too horrifying for him to turn his attention away from. He watched as the man demanded his wife to show him her teeth and fucking beat her until she did it, all the while fucking stroking himself. It was worse than a fucking car wreck yet he couldn't fucking just look away.

"_Neigh for me, showhorse! COME ON! NEIGH!"_

James shook his head, unable to even speak as Mindy was made to neigh like a damn horse. This was just beyond sick. His wife-the wife he fucking loved beyond any fucking sort of reason-was being degraded right before his eyes and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. It was a video tape, it had already happened. While he was away and failing her this had happened.

"Are you crying Jamie?" The man's tone was totally mocking him. "I hope not because it's barely even gotten started yet."

"No…" James's jaw dropped as the man introduced a shotgun into the picture. "No…no no no no no!"

"Don't worry, I didn't shoot her. She's still here and in one piece."

James tried to say something but he completely lost it once he saw the guy jam the gun up between her legs. He snapped his eyes shut and turned away from the TV, unable to block out the sound of her screaming and crying and the guy just running his mouth, fucking going on and on and on…

"You better still be watching," the guy told him. "You don't want anything to happen to them because you made me mad, now would you?"

James slapped a hand over his mouth to try to muffle his sobs but it didn't do any good. He cried hard as he forced himself to look back at the screen just in time to see Mindy being forced to suck on the gun and the guy cumming on her face, which made him almost throw up at the same time she ripped her head away from the weapon and almost did the same thing.

"She really does look pretty covered in cum, don't she?"

"Why are you doing this?" James croaked out, becoming incoherent once again when he saw the guy force his cock into her mouth. He knew how she felt about oral…he fucking knew it and it just killed him to see her having to go through this. He looked away from the screen again, not even bothering to muffle his sobs anymore. "Why? What the fuck is the point?" His voice was getting louder and louder by the second. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?"

The man didn't say anything for a very long time. He just breathed quickly and heavily and if James would have really actually listened he might have been able to tell the guy was actually getting turned on by the way this was upsetting James. "I want…" He stopped and laughed before hanging up abruptly.

James just sat there, a sobbing mess who looked back and forth between his phone and the TV, which was now showing the man raping Mindy. At that moment he exploded, jumping up to his feet and grabbing the TV, ripping the plug out of the outlet before smashing it down to the ground. That wasn't enough for him though. He picked it back up and threw it again, this time against the wall before letting out an animalistic scream and just tearing apart the room, punching holes in the walls and breaking everything he could before somehow ending up in the bathroom and collapsing in a sobbing, heaving mess on the floor.


	28. Chapter 28

**Cathy**: Thank you! **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Ugly death is definitely what James wants to give this guy-he just has to find him first. **jadeMK11**: James can't either. He wants to rip this guy apart in the worst way. **Esha Napoleon**: Oh yeah. And thank you!

…

Sniffling and coughing from a mild case of Lizzie Bear's whooping cough Mindy pet the baby's face frantically as the baby fussed in her arms. She was honestly at a loss with what to do at the moment without any food, water, means of communication…she didn't even know what planet she was on because of the schizophrenia taking over. All she knew was the baby was there and the baby was sick and the baby needed to eat. Elizabeth was so skinny she couldn't even breathe knowing someone allowed her beautiful gorgeous baby to get this way, so reluctantly Mindy moved her hair aside and began to coo in the only language she could remember how to speak.

"Sssshh…." Running her fingers through Elizabeth's long blonde locks Mindy began to coo, "Nie krzyczy, Lizzie Niosą proszę sprawiać przyjemność proszę nie krzyczy. Tutaj…" swallowing hard she moved a silicone implanted breast towards Elizabeth's lips, "poznaję to jest nowe ale próbują to." (Don't cry, Lizzie Bear please please please don't cry. Here...I know it's new but try it.)

Allowing her jaw to hang for a moment Mindy sniffled and nodded as Elizabeth let instincts take over and drank from her very slowly, pausing to cough every now and then but nursed much better than Mindy assumed she would. She hated this more than anything in the world, but she had to do whatever necessary to keep the baby alive. She herself wasn't being fed either but she tried hard not to think about that. Next to Elizabeth her condition was insignificant. James needed his daughter to be healthy not her. She wasn't his blood; she was expendable compared to the baby. That baby was so many different things to him she knew out of all people Elizabeth had his heart.

The metal collar created bloodied imprints in her neck and the muggy air of that closet was horrible for both her and Elizabeth's congested lungs. For such a young baby though Elizabeth was quite a trooper. Whenever Mindy heard footsteps she'd gotten the baby to quiet down to a hush and she did, hugging Mindy's neck for dear life and burying her face in the matted wavy raven hair to stay safe. Mommy would protect her now no matter what and she knew it.

The door opened and Mindy pouted her lips as he stepped through the blinding light which gave both mother and child headaches from not being exposed to it for so long.

"Rise and shine, fillies" he chuckled and cocked his head at the way Mindy's icy gaze had completely locked on him, screaming all sorts of contempt and scorn so he screwed up his face, "Awww now what's THAT face supposed to mean, pretty little showhorse?"

"Jedzą jałowy i umierają" (Eat shit and die) Mindy said through clenched teeth and cuddled the startled baby closer to her bare chest.

"And how the HELL am I supposed to understand any a' that shit, huh?" he whacked her upside the head and she yelped from pain at the impact, "Why can't you talk to me in a language we can all understand?"

She spat in his face the moment he bent to eye level.

WHACK!

Mindy screamed and thrashed her head backwards from pain, nearly dropping Elizabeth in the process so he took the opportunity to snag the baby from her.

"MA! MA-MY! MA-MY!" Elizabeth shrieked to the point that Mindy threw care to the wind and lunged off the ground.

Mindy's teeth sank into his porky hand and in recoil he backhanded the young woman right off, but it wasn't enough. Mindy literally tore Elizabeth from him and clawed at his face quickly, kicking him until the collar restrained her movements and she had to back up or be lynched.

"CUNT!" shouting at the top of his lungs he wiped blood from his mouth before pushing back to his feet and approaching the shivering young woman, who placed Elizabeth in the corner and blocked his way of getting to her. "Looks like this broodmare over here's a little FIESTY, huh?" bending down he knocked her right in the mouth before forcing open her legs and digging his fingers into the bloodied and sore flesh from being raped the night before, "Looks like we need to tame this one…"

Mindy shook her head in a panic, already trying to kick at him when he jammed a needle in her thigh and she screamed, going limp from pain and numbness when he began rubbing furiously between her legs and licking his fingers to moisten her up since she was bone dry.

"What's the matter with you, huh?" shaking his head he rubbed her harder and slammed her shoulders to the wall behind her, probably creating bruises but not caring. "I know you can get wet alright…" nodding and making his cock hard just at the thought he pulled it out and let it harden in the musky air while trying to rub her fiercely, "I know your pussy can get so fucking wet for your Jamie all you can do is play with yourself until he comes home and fucks you raw. Right, showhorse? When it comes to Jamie that tight little pussy is open for business twenty four-seven."

Barely even able to keep her eyes open Mindy tried harder to fight and growled, " Robi nie wy nawet obmyślają o fucking ja znowu albo będę odcinać waszego małego człowieka!" (Don't you even think about fucking me again or I'll chop your chode myself!)

SLAP!

"SPEAK ENGLISH SHOWHORSE!" he shouted while slamming himself inside her and making the sore and battered young woman scream her brains out trying to get away, but the sedatives he shot her up with here too strong. They were too strong for her she was unable to even breathe properly. Her lungs had been closing up and the musky air wasn't helping at all. She was choking on her own breaths and he wouldn't let her breathe. His hand was wrapped around her throat and she gagged, nearly choking because he was thrusting into her so hard all she could do was cry and stare at the paint peeling on the walls.

"MA-MY!' Elizabeth screamed in the corner as her mother violently fought against their attacker and was more unsuccessful by the second.

"Come on, showhorse…" he thrust harder and licked his fingers before rubbing Mindy's clit though she gave zero response, "get wet for me come on…let me feel you all wet and hot for me…pretend I'm Jamie…"

"Otrzymują płeć od mnie" (Get the fuck off me)

"Oh fuck showhorse…" thrusting harder and faster despite her whimpered cries he nodded, "getting me so hard for you talking like that…what language is that, Russian?"

"Polerują was odurzona matka fucker" (Polish you dumb mother fucker)

"Man I love you too" nodding and squeezing her breasts despite how hard she curled her lips he bent down and flicked that rancid tongue out to lick her nipples so to keep her baby's mouth clean since Elizabeth was now nursing Mindy thwacked him and ripped at his ear as hard as she could, tearing it straight off and causing him to emit a howl unlike anything she had ever heard from anyone in her life.

He screamed over and over again as blood fell before withdrawing as she flung the ear aside and tried to pick up a defensive stance but her body was too sedated.

"FUCKING BITCH! YOU FUCKING FUCKING BITCH! FUCKING" PUNCH! "FUCKING" PUNCH! "FUCKING FUCKING BITCH!"

Again and again and again he pummeled at her and she screamed with each hit, dodging the blood as it poured everywhere before digging in his pockets and pulling a set of keys out and sliding them to Elizabeth, who wisely held them under her butt as Mindy continued to be beaten to a pulp by their assailant. A camcorder set up in the doorway caught footage of it all as he screamed, knocked Mindy's right front tooth out, and bolted out of the room triple-locking the door leaving a trail of blood. Mindy gagged a mouthful of blood because the tooth was knocked out, but what the stupid fucking idiot didn't know was that her right incisor was fake. It was knocked out in a wrestling match back when she was twenty-one years old. She'd been wearing a post in that spot which looked and felt real ever since so by knocking that out he thought he got her tooth, but if he was a better stalker he'd know it was a post.

"MUM MUM MUM!" Elizabeth screamed with extended arms in horror until her bloodied, drugged, and battered mother lifted her and tried to hide that she was missing her front tooth so she wouldn't frighten her daughter.

"Ssssssh Lizzie Bear…" shaking her head Mindy kissed her temple and pulled the keys out from the corner where Elizabeth had been protectively sitting on them, "Wy potrzebujecie być spokojny tak Mommy może otrzymywać USA zza tutaj, w porządku? Może wy jest spokojny?" (You need to be quiet so Mommy can get us out of here, okay? Can you be quiet?)

Elizabeth didn't understand her but quieted anyway, holding onto Mindy like a baby sloth as Mindy carefully waited out as long as she could stand the shooting pain between her legs, biting her tongue not to scream in agony and just staring blankly at all the blood on the floor. Yeah…she ripped his fucking ear off and didn't care. Good luck wearing glasses now, shorty. Pools of blood contaminated their floors but Mindy didn't care. She had to get herself and Elizabeth out of that house the moment that son of a bitch left to bring his ass to the hospital. There was no way he could just let that pass she ripped his ear off and threw it out of the room. There was no way to reattach the thing so she was just laughing to herself that she was able to do so. Nobody came near Lizzie Bear if any lesson were to be taken from that. If she wasn't chained to the wall she easily could have fucking killed him. When unhinged Mindy had strength on her which equaled a grown man if angered enough. The amount of speed and force she could apply without even thinking about it was frightening but true.

Eventually he did leave which made Mindy hold a finger to her lips while kissing the side of Elizabeth's head, quickly fiddling with the lock on her neck until the collar was free and moving towards the door, which had been locked shut from the outside so she basically hit the wall.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck…" shaking her head Mindy sniffled and hugged Elizabeth tighter to her skin while on wobbly giraffe legs from being raped a million times over.

_"You're good at that," Mindy said as she watched James pick the lock on the back door. "Who taughted you to do that?"_

_"Nobody really taught me it," he answered. "Mark and I just kind of learned how to do it."_

"Fuck dziękują Jamie" (Fuck thank you Jamie) Mindy sniffled and mimicked the way she had often watched her husband pick locks on doors, "Fuck fuck fuck kocham was" (Fuck fuck fuck I love you)

Elizabeth grew more anxious until Mindy kicked the door open and sprinted through the house to try and make sure it was empty. It was this tiny two-story center hall colonial style place which she now knew she was locked under the stairs leading up. As much as she wanted to just book out of the place naked she had to put something on. Who would help her if she didn't? Booking it into his bedroom Mindy kissed Elizabeth before pulling one of his shirts on over her head and just scouring for a phone. Nothing. She checked all over the fucking house not one phone was there and no car keys were in sight.

"FUCK!" shrieking she tore through the house and out the back door, blinded by the sunlight but shielding the baby as they tripped their way through the desert towards the nearest road they could find.

The sun was beyond excruciating and Mindy sniffled and nearly fell onto the asphalt pavement of the main road, but there had to be a car to wave down. How many people would just leave a popstar and her baby on the side of the road.

"Mum mum mum mum" Elizabeth buried her face in Mindy's chest as she saw a car and tried to catch their attention.

ZOOM….

Drove right by her. Staring in disbelief with a furrowed brow and pouted lips Mindy staggered more and tried to get the next car…right by her again. What Mindy didn't notice was she had been so mangled, starved, and beaten she was beyond unrecognizable and also covered in blood.

Finally it happened. A car stopped. Immediately Mindy slammed her bloodied palms to the hood and bolted for the passenger seat to get in when the baseball cap was taken off, an ear was missing, and by her hair Mindy was dragged back into the car and clubbed in the side of the head with an ice scraper until blood stained the seat and Elizabeth fell on the side of the road. Maybe he'd come back for her. For now he had to go back and teach the bitch a lesson in manners.


	29. Chapter 29

**Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you **jadeMK11**: I know, it's horrible. The whole thing is just sickening really. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Hopefully she can. The guy's pissed though now so things are not looking good at all…

…

"_Jamie no!" Mindy cried out as she grabbed on to his wrists to keep him from clawing at his neck. Usually she was the one that woke him up with night terrors but tonight it was him that had woke her up instead. She had put Elizabeth in her bassinet and was trying her best to wake James up. "Jamie wake up!" She kissed his face frantically, shaking her head as he cried and whimpered. "Jamie!"_

_James's eyes snapped open and he looked around wildly and fearfully until he realized the only people in the room were him, Mindy and Elizabeth. He let out a shaky breath and snuggled up to Mindy, who hugged him tightly and petted his hair gently. "Mommy and the hanger again?" she asked even though she already knew the answer._

_He nodded and buried his face against her as much as he could. His first memory ever was Caroline trying to kill him with the wire hanger when he was just three years old and it was recurrent nightmare. No matter how much time passed and how hard he tried to will it away, it lingered with him, usually coming back to him in full force when he was asleep because he was just so vulnerable then. It really felt like it was happening all over again. He could feel her grabbing him, digging the sharp metal into his flesh and trying to drag it across his jugular as he struggled and cried, barely able to break free in time…_

"_Jamie darling she's dead" Mindy reminded him as she continued to cradle him in her arms. The size difference between them was absolutely ridiculous and she couldn't remotely hold all of him the way she tried to but that didn't stop her from hanging on tight and rocking him gently. "She's dead remember? You killed her and chopped her up and made her go away forever and ever. She can't hurt you again."_

"_She's in my head though," he said, looking up at her with wide eyes. "I can't fucking make her go away Baby Doll. I try I do but she won't leave me be-"_

_She quickly kissed him to cut him off and he kissed her back eagerly. When he was like this he couldn't be allowed to dwell on it for longer than he already had. The more he thought about Caroline, the more shit that would come back into his head and make him even more upset. And Mindy was not about to let that shit happen. Caroline hurt him enough as it was and she wouldn't ever do it again if she got a say in the matter._

…

James had absolutely no idea how he got to the hospital at all. He remembered throwing up in the bathroom and stumbling out of the motel and that was where things got hazy for him. He wasn't sure whether the blackout had happened because he was in such a rage (which had happened before) or whether maybe it was because his mind was trying to save himself from literally going insane. The contents on that tape…it made him stop and throw up again when his brain even approached the subject. He couldn't handle it. His Baby Doll…his Baby Doll was being…no. He couldn't even think it. He just kept going, pulling up to the hospital Amber was staying at and running right into another media circus. It was just like the day Elizabeth had been taken but even worse since it was Mindy herself who was gone this time. They swarmed him as he got out of the car, throwing questions at him in rapid succession, snapping pictures and shoving shit towards his face. He scowled at all of them, thankfully not even hearing what they were saying clearly because he couldn't concentrate properly. He was just pushing and shoving his way through the crowd as violently as he possibly could, knocking several people down in the process. The cops were all coming out and trying to regain some sense of order but James shot right past them and went into the hospital.

He blinked as he stepped inside, the bright light and the smell that only existed in hospitals and nursing homes assaulting him and making him shake his head. There were people all around him but he barely gave any of them a second glance. His feet were moving on their own accord and he was looking around wildly, not really seeing anyone else that was there. His mind was starting to replay the tape and he saw Mindy everywhere, getting tortured and raped by that guy and it was driving him even more up the wall. He needed to black out again. He needed to just fucking blackout again to spare him from this shit but of course now he couldn't do it. Now he was trapped in replaying the video over and over again while imagining just what else his Baby Doll and Lizzie Bear were going through.

"_Daddy Chelsea isn't sharing the popcorn," Connor complained. They were having a little family movie night and the kids were all sitting on the floor while Cooper had made himself comfortable on the chair and Mindy and James had taken the couch, James cradling the recently brought home Elizabeth in his arms while snuggling with Mindy. _

"_Chelsea don't ever like to share the snacks," Tryg informed the pouting Connor. "See?" He reached over and tapped Chelsea's shoulder._

"_What?" Chelsea said, moving the popcorn away from Tryg. _

"_Well bah humbug to her," Connor said with a shake of his head. "See if I ever share anything with her ever again."_

"_What are you talking about Connor?" Amber asked incredulously. "You don't share now!"_

"_So? What's your point?"_

_As Cooper smacked Connor on the back of his head for that comment, James and Mindy were busy fussing over Elizabeth, which was what they had spent the majority of their time doing ever since she had been brought home._

"_Is she real?" Mindy asked as she nuzzled James's neck._

_James nodded and kissed her. "Of course." Even as he reassured her though he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming or anything. He really was sitting there with his beautiful wife, holding the beautiful daughter they had made together with all their other kids who he did adore so much…if this was a dream he never wanted to wake up. Not ever. This was all so perfect he couldn't even imagine it being any other way._

"_I love you Jamie," Mindy said as she kissed him hard._

"_I love you more Baby Doll."_

James snapped out of the memory as he found himself stepping off the elevator and storming down the hallway, looking into every room he could before finally finding Amber's room. Thorn, Scarlett and Chelsea were all on the bed with Amber, the older three looking distraught while Chelsea just stared at the TV blankly until she turned her head towards him and her whole face brightened instantly.

"Daddy!"

Cooper and Steve, who had both been talking to a doctor and a police officer, both paled beyond the telling of it as they whirled around and saw James there. Amber, Thorn and Scarlett all exchanged looks. They had never seen James look like that ever, not even Amber when she had gone hunting with him. He had lost a noticeable amount of weight, which made his face very pale and gaunt. He had giant black circles under his eyes and his eyes themselves were completely bloodshot and crazed looking. It was really quite frightening-well, to everyone but Chelsea that was. All she saw was her daddy and didn't get how the shit was going to hit the fan now.

"Mr. Lawson-" The doctor never got to finish his sentence. James had bulldozed through him and the officer so he could snatch both Cooper and Steve by the throat and throttle them. He didn't have near the strength he normally did because of his extreme lack of eating but he managed to choke the fuck out of the both of them, letting the adrenaline rush he was getting from his rage give him the strength he needed.

"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING?" He pushed them back up against the wall and dug his fingernails into their flesh, wanting to just rip their throats out with his bare hand. "WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING HER! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE FUCKING WATCHING HER HE HAS HER HE HAS HER HE FUCKING HAS HER!"

"Mr. Lawson!" the officer shouted. He was doing his best to try to pull James off of Steve and Cooper while the doctor went to get more help.

James snarled and barred his teeth at the annoying officer while refusing to let go. Cooper and Steve were both trying to pry his fingers off so they could breathe again but he didn't want them to succeed. They were supposed to be looking after Mindy and did they fucking do that? No! They fucking sat on their asses and neglected her and let her get taken. "Do you know what he's doing to her? Huh? Do you fucking know? Because he sure as hell made sure I found out!"

Several more officers and a few more doctors came running, all grabbing a hold of James and managing to pull him off of Steve and Cooper, who both put their hands up to their throats and gasped and coughed for breath. "LET ME GO!" James screamed, doing his best to fight off everyone that was dragging him back. "LET ME GO LET ME GO LET ME GO!"

Amber and the twins watched with wide eyes as James was dragged back, too shocked to even say anything. Chelsea on the other hand, was not about to sit there and say nothing. They were taking Daddy away and she was not going to stand for that. She got off the bed and marched right up to the people trying to take James away and started kicking them right in the shins. "NO!" she screamed. "That's MY daddy! NO NO NO NO!"

Her screaming was enough to get them to stop and James wriggled free from their grip and scooped Chelsea up into his arms and hugged her tight. He couldn't even speak at the moment. He just kept hugging her, letting her hug him back and put her hands all over his face while stumbling over to the chair by Amber's bed and collapsing down into it.

"Daddy?" Thorn and Scarlett both stared at James until he extended his arm and let them crawl on to his lap as well. Chelsea gave her sisters a disgruntled look for now having to share her daddy time but James gave her a kiss on the top of her head to soothe her once more.

"Daddy, why did the bad man take Mommy?" Scarlett asked innocently.

James shook his head. "He's…he's just bad." That was about all he could really get out at the moment. He looked into Amber's eyes and he knew that she could tell that the situation was much more dire than what he was trying to let on.

"You'll get him though, right Daddy?" Thorn asked. She was whispering so that none of the people around them could hear her. "You'll get him and make him pay, right?"

A frightening look crossed over James's face and that answered that question without a word even needing to be said.

…

The sun was beating down straight on Elizabeth as she sat there, alone and crying on the side of the road. "Ma-my!" she called out, crying and coughing when Mindy was nowhere to be found. The sun was beating down so hard on her that she was drenched in sweat and she didn't feel good at all. The pavement below her was starting to get scorching hot, which would soon burn the hell out of her if she stayed sitting there much longer. "Da-dy?" She sniffled and coughed as she looked around. "Da-dy? Ma-my?"

Something shot out from the bushes nearby and her attention went to it. It was a little jack rabbit and she started trying to crawl after it. "Hop! Hop hop-" The rabbit quickly disappeared from her line of sight and her face crumpled instantly and she began to cry, which just fueled her whooping cough, which only made her cry more. "DA-DY! MA-MY!"

…

"Honey are you sure you even know where you're going?" Sixty year old Edith Brown asked her husband Larry as he tried to drive and look at his map at the same time.

"Of course I know where I'm going," Larry snapped irritably. "I'm on the road the map says we have to be on."

"But we should have been there almost two hours ago," she pointed out. They were on their way to their son's house to meet his fiancé but they were having quite a few issues in even getting there. "I told you that we should have asked the nice boys at the gas station which way to go."

Larry snorted loudly. "What would they have known?"

"Well they live here so they have to know these roads better than we do."

"Oh just be quiet you. Don't you have any more of those soap opera magazines to read?"

"I read them already," she replied. "I wasn't expecting to be LOST-"

"We are not lost!"

"We are too and you want to know why we are? Because you don't listen to me! You never listen to me and look where it gets you!"

Larry tightened his grip on the steering wheel and took a deep breath. "Lord give me strength…what the HELL?"

Edith let out a short scream of surprise as Larry slammed on the brakes. "What are you doing?" she asked incredulously. "Have you lost your mind?"

Larry didn't answer her. He just got out of the car so she did the same and that was when she saw the young baby in the middle of the road that they had come literally inches from running over. "Oh my GOD!" She watched as Larry scooped the child up into his arms and that was when she recognized her. Her face was usually splashed on magazines and the TV, and especially now ever since she had been taken. "That's Mindy Stratus's little daughter! Remember Larry? The one that got taken!"

He was well aware of that, but only because the kidnapping of Elizabeth and now Mindy was the biggest news story in the country. "Jumpin' Christ on a cross," he muttered under his breath as he quickly got Elizabeth into the car so she could be in the air conditioning. She was so skinny that it was actually emotionally painful just to hold her because it was obvious just how much she had been neglected. Her face was stained with tears and she kept coughing in a way that was just not good at all.

"Here, see if you can get her to drink from this," Edith said as she got back in the car and handed over her bottle of water. "I'll call 911."

"Tell them she needs a hospital." Larry unscrewed the bottle cap and tossed it aside before putting the bottle up to Elizabeth's lips to see if he could help her get any kind of fluids in her at all. "Come on little girl come on. Just a little bit…that's good…careful don't choke…good girl. It's going to be alright. We'll get you taken care of and it's going to be alright.


	30. Chapter 30

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Yeah. And now it's just a matter of finding Mindy. **Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you! **jadeMK11:** That would be bad if this hospital fucked up too. James would go beyond crazy if they did.

…

James hadn't moved from his spot on Amber's bed with the girls when the nurse came in holding the phone, a seemingly frantic yet refreshed look on her face as she knocked on the open doorframe to catch the Lawson family patriarch's attention.

"M-Mr. Lawson?" she swallowed hard, that look on James's sickly pale face beyond frightening at being interrupted with his kids.

He said nothing but narrowed his dark eyes, waiting impatiently for the nurse to say something but nothing came out of her mouth. She was too nervous.

"Hi" Amber finally broke silence and stared at the phone in the nurse's hand, "Is that for us?"

"Uh" the young woman froze, stared at the phone, and nodded, "Y-yeah that's for your father…it's good news, believe me"

Immediately James was off the bed and he snatched the phone right from her to glare into the receiver and curl his lips impatiently.

"Yes?" James finally croaked, any news at this point was good news.

"Mr. Lawson…" it was Campbell, a voice he hadn't heard from in what felt like ages, "we have your baby…"

James bit his tongue so hard it bled from fright.

"She's ALIVE, in one piece, and was rushed to Houston General to-"

James physically dropped the phone and stood from the bed, not saying a word to anyone before immediately taking his leave to rush to the city.

…

Driving like a madman James wove through traffic to get to Houston General practically hacking up a lung he was so nervous and anxious to hold his baby girl in his arms once again. She was sick he knew she was sick but she was ALIVE. His only baby girl was alive and in one piece, she was safe his baby was safe. Heightened breaths and James had to hold a hand over his mouth and let his face turn beet red. No one else was in the car which allowed him to sob into his hand but this time not from pain but relief. He'd been carrying on as if she was dead and now it could all be a bad dream.

Large calloused hands dug so hard into the wheel he winced from pain but couldn't prevent the tears from leaking down his face. After what felt like an eternity he would finally hold his baby.

…

Taylor took a deep breath and sighed out of boredom, just staring at the warm bathwater as it filled the tub for Tryg to get in. He and Connor were in the backyard with Snoopy and Spike playing in the pool and since he would be wet anyway, Taylor decided it was the perfect opportunity to bathe the kid. Connor had offered to help him take a bath since he was a boy just like Tryg and it wouldn't be 'icky' (as they called it), but for obvious reasons Taylor didn't trust Connor with the kid as far as she could throw a bus. It was hard enough living with Connor and James, the two of them were like a tag team in her eyes and neither of them liked her. She tried to make them change their minds, she tried valiantly but it just never seemed to work out for her.

Water eventually filled the tub to the brim so Taylor turned it off and sighed while clamping a thin hand in her long platinum blonde hair. She needed Tryg but the kid was outside, so with a yawn she left the water and headed down the stairs. It had been god knew how long without hearing from James or Mindy and yes, she was aware of Mindy's abduction but still she felt so incredibly out of the loop.

"Alright…" with a sigh she blew air past her lips and dragged herself outside, looking quite worse-for-wear and very tired. Normally James or Mindy relieved her at some point but the girls were so easy to watch. She could deal with the girls all day every day, but Tryg was just so hard. The kid was a complete mental case lunatic who never calmed down even for a second. Keeping up with him was beyond exhausting and since the kid went to bed at eleven and woke up at six it was hard to truly get any downtime. The kid was adorable as hell but such an unnecessary pain in the ass. For fact she knew Mindy never actually had to deal with the gremlin which was Tryg because of all the nannies and staff she once had for each child before marrying James. "Hey TRYGGY!"

Exchanging glances from the pool, Tryg and Connor shrugged at the other before finally nodding for Taylor to speak up.

"WHAT?" Tryg yelled right back, eagerly awaiting Taylor to yell or open her mouth at them for playing too rough or something.

"Bathtime, kiddo, come on!" she waved him hopefully, and pouting his lips Tryg looked to Connor who shrugged and pointed towards Taylor.

"Maybe she gave you a bath with bubbles…"

"I hope so" Tryg nodded before grabbing his Spiderman towel and climbing out of the pool, "Is it a bubble bath?"

"I can make it one if you want!" Taylor nodded weakly and ran her long fingers through his pin-straight long blonde hair.

"I want you to make it one" the brat nodded and yawned before entering the house, "Which bathroom?"

"Yours" she smiled with a smirk and shook her head with a wrinkled nose, "I don't think you want Mommy or Daddy's bathroom at all either"

"Oh GOD no!" immediately lamenting Tryg covered his ears, "No no no no yuck no."

"I thought so" Taylor frowned while searching for the bubbles and groaned while staring at the open doorway of Tryg's bathroom, "You wait right here, alright?"

"Yes ma'am" scoffing the ground with his feet Tryg just laid back and watched the water and just dipped his head back out of boredom as she left and went to look inside his mother and father's room where everything was stashed. Items have been found in there which deserved its own encyclopedia entry for strangest thing to use in bed on someone.

…

Paparazzi swarmed the outside of Houston General for James to make his way inside to see his ailing baby, so bodyguards were already stationed in the parking lot to safely escort James inside but that just wasn't happening. James didn't need anyone to protect him and if ANYBODY tried getting in his way when he was racing to get to his sick daughter who was recently found he'd whip out his knife without question.

Making his way through the hallways James followed the various nurses in scrubs towards the private heavily guarded room where a freshly-bathed, clothed, and cleaned Elizabeth lied on her back crying that hoarse sick shriek which made James's heart stop short. She was sick and on god only knew how many antibiotics and it was all his fault.

"Mr. Lawson please be careful-" a doctor swallowed hard but James had lifted his baby from the crib so fast her screaming immediately ceased.

"DA! DA DA DA DA!" wheezing for breath Elizabeth cried loudly and grabbed at James's face and hair, doing anything and everything in her power to get her father closer. James on the other hand made a fist and shoved every single person out of the room before slamming the door shut and sliding with his back to the wall down on the floor, clutching his only daughter as if she were a part of his skin and sobbing until he nearly choked.

…

Flipping through TV channels Connor groaned in agitation before finding a shot of James rushing into the hospital and a news anchor explaining the hostile situation concerning James locking himself down with Elizabeth in the hospital room. But he had Elizabeth…Elizabeth was found.

"Hey!" tapping the couch frantically he looked upstairs since he knew Taylor was up there and called up, "Hey Taylor! TAYLOR!"

Entering the bathroom with bubbles Taylor stopped short in the doorway and pouted her lips to face the stairs, "Connor?"

"Taylor!"

Tryg just stood there patiently.

"What Connor, what is it?" she really needed to give Tryg a bath and couldn't just leave him like that with a full tub of water.

"Come here! Come here quick! It's important! Come here come HERE Taylor quick! You gotta call Coopy!"

Clenching her teeth for a second nervously, Taylor nodded along before sighing and looking down at Tryg, "I'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay" Tryg nodded and pulled his Spiderman towel further up around him.

"Don't you get in that tub without me, you understand?" her finger pointed at him didactically and he nodded, "Okay. I'll be RIGHT back…" she started for the stairs before stopping and pointing in his direction, "Don't you go near that tub, Tryggy or you'll be sorry!"

"Yes Taylor" he groaned as she left quickly down the stairs to find Connor already pulling her into the living room.

"Taylor Taylor she's okay! Lizzie Bear's okay she is she's okay Daddy got her!"

"Oh REALLY?" she shrieked happily, her hands clasping over her mouth as she wrapped her arms around Connor and started crying she was so relieved, hugging him tight and sniffling because he was the closest to her height as far as Lawson men went.

"Yeah!" Connor pointed to the TV for her and smiled happily, "Looky look! Daddy found the dumb baby now he can come home!"

"Oh I hope so" Taylor nodded happily as Connor turned up the volume, "Can you grab me the phone? I gotta call Coop I bet money he doesn't know"

Tryg wandered into the bathroom in a hug because Taylor wasn't getting back up the stairs like she promised because she was too busy making phone calls or whatever. His towel was so long on him it dragged as he went, but he laid it down on the ground besides the tub and tried to climb in himself without Taylor lowering him in, but his foot got no traction on the slick tub floor and he swung forwards, knocking his head on the hard marbled ridge and slipping under the water.

"Cooper?" Taylor gasped in the kitchen happily and bounced while pointing at the TV and hugging Connor, "He found Lizzie! He found Lizzie can you believe it?"

"He did WHAT?" Cooper's astonished voice came from the other end, still really knowing nothing but who cared, his ass was hopefully no longer on the line now that half of James's problems were solved.

"HE! FOUND! LIZZIE!" her hand went over her mouth and she grinned, "Just turn on the TV you'll see what I mean!"

"Where's Tryggy?" Connor looked around and Taylor pointed upstairs.

"He should still be in his room I had him wait while you showed me!"

Nodding Connor ran up the stairs and into Tryg's room…only problem was there was no Tryg there.

"Tryggy?" frowning he looked around and saw no one, "Tryggy?" there was no Tryg there, "Hey Taylor! Hey Taylor where's Tryggy?"

"In his room, remember?" Taylor called up but Connor appeared at the top of the stairs and shook his head.

"No…?"

"Oh fuck me" shaking her head Taylor sighed while barely dangling the phone in her hands, "I'll call you back Coop, alright? Just watch the news for me you'll see."

Hanging up on Cooper she frowned upon entering Tryg's room to find no one there.

"Oh COME ON, Trygger!" she groaned while checking under beds and behind furniture, but no brother was to be found, "Seriously this isn't funny!"

Wandering into the bathroom Connor froze dead at the blood-soaked bathtub with the little blonde figure floating facedown on top. Taylor entered shortly after, clamped a hand over her mouth, and shrieked at the top of her lungs before rushing and pulling his body out of the water…but he was dead.


	31. Chapter 31

**Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: Yeah it's really really unfortunate what happened to Tryg. Taylor just thought she'd be right back she had no idea what Connor wanted her for. And with Tryg being an impatient little boy who didn't want to wait, it just fell apart in the worst way. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: In her defense, it was him that didn't listen. She didn't leave him alone in the water. She told him to wait and any of the girls would have listened. But like I said, he was an impatient little boy and it turned into a tragedy.

…

"So why did they find Lizzie and not Mommy?" Thorn asked as she, her sisters and Cooper watched the news. Elizabeth being found and James being held up with her in Houston General was the top story in the country now. Cooper had come back in and turned on the TV, which explained to them why James had suddenly rushed off without saying a word. "Where's Mommy?"

"Is she dead?" Scarlett asked. She was playing with Chelsea's hair and Chelsea herself had Stickers in a death grip and was making him watch the news with her. They were talking about James so now she was expecting to see "her daddy" on TV.

Cooper shook his head. "Nobody said that. They just…can't find her." He let out a long sigh and ran his hand through his hair. He was really really hoping that with Elizabeth now being found alive and in one piece, it would even James out and he would not get killed for not watching Mindy better. He didn't even know where Steve was anymore so if James came back and was still in a rage…no, having Elizabeth back had to have sated him majorly. Everyone knew just how much that baby meant to him. He claimed he didn't play favorites and Cooper knew he loved all the kids really but still, biologically, Elizabeth was his only daughter and she had captured his heart completely the day she was born.

Then again though, James was completely and utterly dependent on Mindy, so who knew what he would be like once the joy of getting Elizabeth back wore off and the reality sunk back in that his wife was still gone. Cooper wasn't exactly sure at what point the love James had for Mindy manifested into full on dependence; sure in the past he had displayed clinginess but with Mindy it just went way beyond anything Cooper had seen out of him before. And he didn't like it, although that had more to do with his own feelings for Mindy rather than him being worried that it wasn't healthy.

Amber shook her head and grabbed the remote so she could turn the TV off. She didn't want to hear anymore. Elizabeth was fine and that made her happy because she loved her sister but she was completely worried sick over her mother. Was she dead? Was that it? That didn't make a lot of sense though. Why would the guy kill her and not Elizabeth? Was he like James and couldn't hurt a kid? But then again, if he was like that, why would he start off by taking her? Maybe the guy got tired of Elizabeth and just ditched her? Or Mindy got away…but she wouldn't just leave Elizabeth behind…the guy caught her again and Elizabeth got left behind somehow? Amber just didn't know and it was driving her crazy. She wanted to get out of the hospital bed, go out, find this guy and kill him herself. She wanted to stab him over and over again until he lost all the blood in his body or maybe she would take a tire iron and beat him until his brains came out of his skull. Yeah…yeah that sounded really good. She wanted to do it so badly that her entire body was shaking.

"No!" Chelsea turned around and gave Amber a cross look. She had a death grip on Stickers and had been watching TV because she believed that since they were talking about James on the news she was going to get to see him on TV. "Daddy!" She pointed to the TV. "Put Daddy on."

Amber shook her head. "He's not going to be on TV Chels. He's too busy with Elizabeth."

Chelsea scowled and let Stickers go so she could try to grab the remote out of Amber's hand. "MY daddy put MY daddy back!"

"Chelsea come on." Cooper reached over and scooped the three year old into his arms so he could put her on his lap. What he got for that effort though was a death glare so inspired by James that it really freaked him out.

"No! Bad! You are BAD!" Chelsea elbowed him in the ribs as hard as she could and wiggled out of his grip.

Thorn snickered loudly. "She told you."

Cooper shook his head and rubbed his ribs a bit before snagging his Mountain Dew to take a drink of it. He was now majorly annoyed but what could he do about it? Chelsea was Chelsea and now that she was free, she was going up to the TV so she could try to turn it back on via the power button that was way out of her reach.

"Chelsea no," Scarlett scolded. She scrambled off the bed to collect her younger sister. "Stop that."

Chelsea started throwing a fit and Cooper was about to get up and try to help with the situation when his phone rang. "Fucking hell," he muttered under his breath. He reached into his pocket and whipped it out, not even looking at the number to see who it was. "Hello?"

"…Coopy?"

Immediately Cooper froze. "Connor? What's the matter?" He could tell just by Connor's voice that something was horribly, horribly wrong.

Connor's response was to just mumble something he couldn't understand.

"Connor what is going on? Come on just tell me, what happened?" Cooper put the Mountain Dew up to his lips and took a drink.

"…Tryggy's dead."

Cooper choked in mid-drink and coughed and sputtered violently. The girls (with the exception of Chelsea of course) gave him confused looks but he ignored them in favor of trying to breathe and process the news Connor just delivered. "Tryg is WHAT?"

"Tryggy's dead," Connor repeated. He sniffled loudly and Cooper could hear Snoopy whining in the background. "He's dead he died."

"What…how…" Cooper was having a hard time absorbing that news. This was just so out in left field that he wanted to accuse Connor of making up a sick joke but he already knew that wasn't the case. He could tell by Connor's voice that he was far from joking. "What happened? Connor tell me what happened."

"What's the matter?" Amber asked sharply. She was staring at Cooper intensely, ready to rip the phone out of his hands to find out what happened. "What happened to Tryg?"

"He had an accident," Connor told him. "Taylor was going to give him a bath but then I saw the news about Lizzie so I yelled for her and she told Tryggy to wait for her she said she said it a whole bunch of times. I had to tell her about Lizzie I did because she needed to tell you and she did and we were all happy but Tryggy didn't wait like Taylor told him to. We found him dead in the bathtub and there was lots of blood. He hit his head it looks like but we think he drowned to death."

Cooper didn't have anything to say to that. He tried a couple of times but nothing actually came out at first. "Where's Taylor now?" That was all he could come up with. He needed to talk to her.

"With the 911 peoples," Connor replied. "She called them she did and they came but Tryggy was dead when we found him. Taylor won't stop crying I think she thinks it's her fault." Connor sniffled loudly. "I don't know what to tell her…Coopy it wasn't her fault right? Or my fault?"

"No," Cooper said automatically. "No no no…no." He was in quite a state of shock at the moment but he was able to get that out. "No it's not. Don't even think that alright. It was an accident. It was a bad, bad accident."

"WHAT was a bad bad accident?" Amber was getting really impatient and Thorn and Scarlett were hanging on his words too. Chelsea wasn't though; she had managed to somehow snag the remote back from Amber and had turned the TV on so she could try to see James.

"Can I talk to Taylor?" Cooper asked again. He did NOT want to tell the girls but he already knew he wasn't really going to have much of a choice in the matter, which sucked majorly.

"Uh…she's crying lots right now," Connor said. "I don't think she wants to talk. I think I gots to get her tissues."

"Connor-" Cooper was abruptly hung up on and he let out a long sigh before slowly hanging up as well, wincing at the looks he was getting from the girls. They (Amber especially) wanted answers and they wanted them now. "Um…shit…"

…

"Here you go Taylor," Connor said as he offered her an entire box of tissues. Tryg's body had been taken away and now they were alone together, which made him feel awkward because he wasn't quite sure what to do. The shock of finding Tryg was wearing off a bit and now he just didn't know what to do. It just didn't seem right to even think that Tryg was gone. Out of all Mindy's kids and despite the issues they had had because of issues with Mindy, Tryg was still the one he was closest with and now he was gone…Connor didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. He could kill people all ding dong day but he didn't like it when people he knew died. It made him all sad and nobody would ever give him a good reason as to why the dead people couldn't just get back in their bodies and not be dead anymore. It was stupid that they couldn't. Very stupid and very wrong.

Taylor took a couple of tissues and used them, barely paying any attention to what she was doing. She had been crying so much and she just wished that some sort of numbness would take over her and give her a break from the storm of emotions that were inside of her. But no, there was no numbness in sight. Instead she was now asking herself an endless barrage of questions. What if she had taken Tryg downstairs with her when Connor had called for her instead of leaving him to his own devices upstairs? Why hadn't she done that? She knew Tryg didn't listen at all. She had told him like five times to wait…she had told him so many things so many times and had he ever really listened? No. He had done whatever he felt like doing and it had frustrated her to no end. But now…now she just wanted him back. She wanted him to come running in dressed as Spiderman, ready to be the little maniac she knew him to be. But that wasn't going to happen. Not ever again. And she didn't know what to do.

Connor shifted his weight from foot to foot. He wished that James or Cooper was there with him. They would know what to do right now. He looked over at Spike and Snoopy to see if they somehow any advice for him. Unfortunately though, they didn't. They just stared at him, waiting to see what he would do. That just made him feel even more uncomfortable. "I called Coopy," he finally told her. "I told him what happened. He wanted to talk to you but I didn't think you could talk right cuz you can't stop crying."

Taylor sniffled and took another tissue to wipe her eyes. She wished so badly that Cooper was there right now. She needed him so badly. Connor was such a child himself that he wasn't any true comfort although he seemed to be trying in his own scared and confused way.

Connor pursed his lips before putting his hand up to his mouth so he could start sucking and chewing on his thumb. He wanted to tell her to just bring Tryg back already. He always said that but nobody listened but maybe Taylor would listen. Before he could say it though her arms were suddenly around him and she had buried her face into his shirt so she could cry into it. She hadn't actually planned on doing that; it just happened and once she got started again she couldn't stop.

"Coopy says you shouldn't blame yourself," Connor suddenly blurted out. He didn't know why he was saying it really. He just felt like he had to for whatever reason. "He says it wasn't your fault…" His eyes widened when she hugged him tighter and started crying more. He shook his head and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back and resting his chin against the top of her head until she cried herself out.

…

James gently rocked Elizabeth in his arms as she slept, unable to take his eyes off of her for a single second. He had stopped crying eventually and had just cooed and sang to her until she fell asleep, her head resting against his chest as a pillow and his free hand playing the role of Lammy since James had accidentally left him at home in Vegas when he had rushed out to Texas in the first place. "I love you Lizzie Bear," he whispered softly. "I do I love you so much."

Elizabeth wheezed in her sleep, which sent a tidal wave of guilt crashing into him. She was sick and it was all his fault. He let her get taken, which lead to her getting sick-it was all his fault. "Lizzie I'm sorry," he whimpered. "I'm sorry I am I didn't mean it." He pressed his forehead against hers and bit down on his lower lip so hard that it started to bleed. "I didn't mean to be bad I didn't Lizzie I swear I didn't. If I could take it back I would Lizzie Bear I swear don't hate me I love you I do…"

She suddenly began to cough violently and he shook his head frantically. "Lizzie Bear-"

"Ma ma!" Her eyes were still closed mostly but they were fluttering wildly as she tried to twist around in his grip. "Ma ma ma ma ma ma MA MA MA MA!" Her eyes opened and she looked around. "MA MA MA!"

"Lizzie!" James shook his head and hugged her for dear life as she began to cry, which triggered her cough and that only made her cry more. "Lizzie Bear no-"

"Ma ma ma!" Elizabeth looked around, getting more upset when she didn't see Mindy anywhere. She grabbed on to James's face and looked at him with tear filled eyes and the look just broke his heart. "Da da da! Ma ma ma!"

"I'll find her," James quickly promised. He smoothed her hair down and kissed her face quickly. "I'll find Mommy I will. I'll find her Lizzie Bear and I'll bring her home. Okay? Okay Lizzie?"

Elizabeth nodded and coughed some more before resting her head on his shoulder and letting her rock her back to sleep.


	32. Chapter 32

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: As a big of a pain in the ass as he could be, Taylor definitely cared about him a whole lot. And Connor's trying to help since he's the only one there but there's not a lot he can do. He's got the mind of a child he's not exactly equipped to deal with Taylor's grief. **Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: Yes he will. Not a fun job at all. And if they can find Mindy and get her back in one piece, I pity the person that will have to tell her.

…

Thorn and Scarlett were bawling their eyes out and Chelsea simply picked up Amber's phone and left her sisters by themselves so she could get some peace and quiet in the hallway. Cooper was just shocked really, the shock of it all and what it was going to do to Mindy was eating away at him. Despite everything that had happened he'd never lost that burning desire for his stepmother, and deep down he knew no matter what she had scorched him and was never going to fully leave his system. Every touch, every look, every word James said he would always wish it was him delivering. Unfortunately for the time being he would have to make due with what he had, which was slowly chipping away at whatever thread of sanity he was holding onto.

Amber just sat in the bed pensive, unsure. She didn't know what to think of the death of her little brother. It was an accident yes, it was an accident Taylor was their big sister now she loved them. Her main fear was James though and what he would do to her because Taylor was such a nice girl. When Mindy brought her home sure, everyone had their doubts but Taylor had saved Cooper's life. Taylor had been the best big sister in the world and now James was going to kill her because her BROTHER was dead. Her kid brother was dead. It wasn't hitting her right she knew it wasn't. Sooner or later the weight of the world would crash down on her shoulders and whatever, she wasn't allowed to feel anything right now. As it was everyone was in Texas because of HER. SHE had the cancer which brought everyone there. If not for her illness her mother would still be around, her family would all be together, and her brother would still be alive. It was amazing how badly she ruined everyone's lives because she decided to get sick.

Thorn and Scarlett were bawling messes. Thorn was sobbing into Oxa's neck and the Serval just sat stiff while Scarlett was sprawled all over Cooper. Amber couldn't even take being in the room she didn't blame Chelsea for leaving.

Holding down the number two button in the hallway as Amber had taught her Chelsea hugged Stickers close and snagged a jell-o off a nurse's cart so she could eat it with her fingers and shove Stickers' face in it as she moved. The red panda just kind of sat still and waited for her as she dialed the phone impatiently and tapped her foot where she sat.

…

James was trying to sleep with Elizabeth in his arms soundly asleep when the phone rang. Groaning and kissing the top of his baby's head so it wouldn't wake her he reached to wearily read the number on the screen and practically stop dead. Amber was calling him of all people. What her issue could possibly be he didn't know but he never really liked a call from the kids because they scared him. Something was always wrong and there was no Mindy with her at all.

"Amber?" he croaked with a kiss to Elizabeth's head, and the baby yawned before balling her tiny fists up and nestling into his chest.

"HI Daddy!"

He couldn't do a damn thing to conceal the grin which zapped across his face at that telltale voice, "Chelsea baby"

"It's…" she paused to heave a breath and announce proudly for him on the other end, "PRINCESS!"

"PRINCESS?" he feigned a gasp and couldn't prevent the tears from welling up in his eyes at that chubby little moop with long curly blonde hair and the bluest eyes he'd ever seen outside of Mindy's.

"HI Daddy!"

"HI baby sweetheart Princess darling how are you? Where is everybody?"

"I got-the STICKERS!" though he couldn't see he knew she was holding up the red panda for him to see.

"You DO? You got him Chelsea?"

"Yes" she nodded curtly and though he couldn't see, she had hopped up on a gurney and was kicking her feet happily in the air while hugging the red panda by the neck, "the Stickers."

"Give him a big kiss for me, Princess I miss you…" nodding silently and staring at the cold tiled floor his vision blurred with tears as he thought of her, everything about her…he didn't care what biology had to say she was his daughter. There was no arguing she out of everyone was his daughter. She had him by the heart nearly as much as Elizabeth and he wanted her there to hold her, hug and kiss her. Tell her how much he loved her and needed a little Princess in his life. Little things he took for granted he didn't realize how much he needed, like Chelsea. Who knew how much that little marshmallow meant to them until she wasn't there to coddle and spoil the shit out of…and she loved it. She loved being his little angel and hammed it up like nobody else. No one would ever have a personality which could ever compare to Chelsea's…short of Mindy herself. That was how he liked to see Chelsea, like a little Mindy he could spoil and love all over again without her knowing it. The last thing Mindy would ever want is someone to pretend that they're her because she loathed her own existence that terribly, but it was truth. If there was ever a carbon copy of Mindy it was Chelsea, and through her he could spoil the shit out of her and do all the things he wished could have been done for Mindy as a baby.

He was no idiot, he knew Mindy treated Elizabeth like a small version of him and why should she do that alone? He loved her and Chelsea so deeply there was no way around it. There was nowhere he wouldn't go for Mindy, and as Chelsea's 'best' daddy he was doing a service in his mind to a future Mindy. Mindy spent her whole life convinced no one could love her and it made him sick because he did love her. He loved her terribly. If he could start all over with her he did it through Chelsea, who openly loved him more than anyone else…much like her mother.

"Guess WHAT Daddy?" she was just giddy, bouncing up and down on her toes for him to respond and he did.

"WHAT? What is it, Princess? What do you have to tell Daddy?" he waited patiently and smiled weakly, "I do love you so very very much beautiful girl"

"I don't have a brother anymore…" the very upbeat and blunt way that came out of her mouth made his jaw tighten and he pouted his lips.

"What do you mean, sweetheart? Tell Daddy what you mean"

"I don't have one!" she shrugged and swayed her head from side to side absently, "I don't have a brother anymore, Daddy."

"Chelsea!"

"James…" of all people that was Julie. What exactly she was doing in Texas was beyond him, but she was there. She was there and she clearly had a violently struggling Chelsea because she was trying to get the phone back to talk to James.

"No! MY DADDY MINE MY DADDY NOT YOUR DADDY!" she shrieked angrily and balled a fist to whack her with, "YOU NO TALK MY DADDY! MY Daddy! DADDY! DADDY!"

"Sssssssh beautiful girl sshhhhh…" James cooed to the point that Julie held the phone over the baby's ear and she was slowly subdued, "Rosenberg…"

"I'm so sorry you had to find out this way" she gave Chelsea a look, and in response Chelsea's nose wrinkled and she tried her best to look as angry as possible.

"MY Daddy" Chelsea hissed again and hugged Stickers, making Julie try not to get hit by the exotic animal clawing to get away from Chelsea but she had the thing in such a vice grip around the neck it was going nowhere, "That's MY Daddy, Stickers. MY best Daddy."

"I wasn't aware you had multiple fathers" Julie quipped before shaking her head and petting Chelsea's hair, "James…I…"

"W-what is she talking about?" he could only shake his head in intense dread, "What's the matter with Tryg?" he knew she didn't see Connor as a brother and Aiden wasn't born yet.

"James…" sighing Julie clamped a hand in her hair, "there's been an accident"

That was the number one response men hated to hear.

"What KIND of accident, Rosenberg?"

"Taylor was giving him a bath and Connor saw the broadcast of you finding your daughter and got excited. He called Taylor down, and she warned the kid like seven times not to go NEAR the water and…"

James covered his face with a single hand, not even wanting to know the next part.

"He drowned James…he hit his head on the rim of the bathtub and drowned. He's…" she gulped, "everyone's a mess he's dead."

…

"COOPER! I-I-I-I just…" Taylor was in such hysterics it was hard to comprehend a single thing she was saying. The only English she made was that it was all her fault and how dead she was and how sorry she was for everything and there wasn't much Cooper could do. "I TOLD HIM I DID! I TOLD HIM! COOPER! I! TOLD! HIM! I DID!"

"I know…" curling his lips Cooper sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I know, okay? I know…it's NOT your fault it was nobody's fault"

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? YES IT WAS!" she screamed and slapped her hands to her thighs, crying out loud and shaking her head in dismay, further making Connor upset and he couldn't even open his mouth to say anything to comfort her. What was there to say? That it wasn't her fault? No. She wouldn't believe it. Besides…anything Cooper would say to her is better. Barking up the wrong tree or not she was desperately in love with Cooper in a way she couldn't even begin to tell him. If anyone could talk her out of any feelings or thoughts it was him. She didn't even know why but he made everything make sense to her because he was so smart. There was no way she could get through this without him.

"Hey! Hey! Hey hey hey, Taylor!" he frowned and clenched his teeth with a shake of the head because he felt terrible, "Taylor Taylor Taylor come on! Pull yourself together come on! You've gotta be there for Connor come on!"

"HOW…" she growled and shook her head at him in dismay, "Could I EVER…EVER…forgive myself or ANYONE forgive me for-"

"Please…" swallowing hard and running a hand through his hair Cooper shook his head and exhaled, "don't do this, don't go blaming yourself alright? He knew you loved him, he knew-"

"YOUR UNCLE DID NOT!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and balled a fist, smashing the roof of a car and crying as Connor again debated touching her. She'd been violently fighting anyone and everyone away from her because she couldn't take the guilt. She killed her new little brother. She completely tore apart her adoptive family.

"HEY!" shouting now Cooper had caught her attention and held it, "You don't know SHIT, alright Taylor? You don't know SHIT about what my dad is gonna do and you WON'T be killed off because it WASN'T your fault!"

Sniffling and tucking her hair behind her ear she couldn't help but croak the words out now, "I-I love you, Cooper…I really am fucking in love with you"

"Taylor now's not the time for-"

"FUCK YOU Rich Boy, I love you!"

Taken aback by the Mindyesque move Cooper swallowed hard and just dropped his eyes to his feet.

"Taylor…"


	33. Chapter 33

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Unfortunately for Taylor, he don't have a great track history of handling things right, so we'll see how this plays out. **jadeMK11**: It's been needed to be said for awhile though the whole James thing could be a motivating factor for her to finally do it. **cathy **and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you!

…

Taylor swallowed heavily as Cooper said her name. The tears were subsiding for the moment and she was wiping the wetness of her face with the back of her hand. Connor was lingering nearby, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. She had actually said it. She had confessed her love for him. Connor couldn't believe it and all the way in Texas, Cooper had absolutely no idea what to say.

"I do…" she hiccupped before continuing "I'm in fucking in love with you. I have been…I just haven't had the guts to tell you rich boy." She sniffled and wiped her eyes again.

Cooper was rendered speechless. He absently smoothed down Scarlett's hair as she was still clinging to him and lost in her mourning of Tryg. She had said the words…the three big ones that left him in a state of shock. He wasn't a complete idiot; he had known Taylor liked him but…love? Like love love? He hadn't even really let that thought cross his mind. Being attracted to him was one thing; he had had plenty of girls be attracted to him. Even when they knew he was gay they all wanted to be with him. But love…she was in LOVE with him. That just changed the playing field completely.

"Cooper?" she said hesitantly. "Are you there?"

He was but he was busy trying to figure out what to say. He wasn't about to tell her he loved her too. He cared about her yeah, maybe even loved her like a sister or a friend but in love? He had been in love with ONE woman ever…and she wasn't her. But he couldn't just reject her. He did like her and how could he reject her on top of the trauma she had suffered from Tryg's death? She was feeling supremely guilty already about something that wasn't even her fault. He didn't have it in him to do that.

"Cooper?" Now Taylor was scared. Had she scared him off? Had actually saying that scared him off? She was hoping not but the silence on his end was certainly making her think so.

"Taylor…we can't do this over the phone." This was a stalling tactic, plain and simple. Cooper didn't know what to say or do so he had come up with an excuse to not have to deal with this at the moment. He had to put it off until he could collect himself and figure out just what to do. "We need to talk face to face."

Taylor bit down on her lower lip and nodded. "Are you…are you coming back here?"

"Well Julie is here-"

"Julie is there?"

"Yeah. She just showed up to take the kids back for the funeral-"

The funeral…that made Taylor put her hand over her mouth and let out a choked sob. "Cooper please come back with them," she begged. "Please please PLEASE come back with them! Please I need you to come back I can't go through that without you please-"

Cooper felt like a deer in the headlights now. The reason he would have to stay was to maybe try to find Mindy (even though James would skin him for it) but he couldn't take Taylor crying like that. She was literally begging him and he felt too bad for her to even think about putting up a fight over that. "Okay okay! I'll come with them just please, calm down."

Taylor settled back down, pacing back and forth anxiously. She wanted Cooper there with her now. She couldn't wait any longer she needed him so bad she wanted to scream. "Are you guys going right now?"

"I don't know. Julie's on the phone with Dad still and I think we'll have to talk to Amber's doctors or whatever before we go. We'll be there soon though, okay?"

She let out a shaky breath and forced herself to nod. "Okay."

…

"So why exactly did you come?" James asked Julie, finally able to form some kind of actual sentence after the news about Tryg had been delivered. It didn't feel real to him. His stepson was dead. His stepson was dead. His stepson-his wife's only boy at this point in time was dead. It didn't feel real to him. It was just another page in this whole entire nightmare. He wanted to just wake up now and find out this had been a horrible, horrible dream. He wanted to wake up and have Elizabeth and Mindy never even taken in the first place, Tryg still alive, Amber cancer free…this was just too much. When things went wrong for them they went wrong on an epic level but this was beyond too much. "What are you even doing here you-"

"I figured since nobody else was going to do it I would pick up the kids and bring them back to Vegas for the funeral," Julie interrupted. "I mean I didn't know what Cooper would have planned to do but they were his sisters they should be there."

"I should be there," James said, a huge feeling of guilt crashing over him. "I should be there…" He looked down at Elizabeth, who was still sleeping against his chest. "But Elizabeth…"

"How is she?" Julie asked.

"Sick. She can't leave here. If I go back I'll have to leave her here."

A silence fell between the two of them. As horribly guilty as he felt for this, he couldn't leave her there to go to Tryg's funeral. Not only was she sick but that man, that sick bastard who took her was still out running free. He just got her back there was no way-absolutely NO way he could risk her being taken again. And given how people who were supposed to be watching his family had been failing on an epic scale lately…no, he just couldn't do it.

"Do you want me to tell the kids you can't come?" Julie asked.

"Bring them here before you go back. I need to see them." James felt so damn guilty and he knew that he was probably going to feel even worse by seeing them all face to face. How could he tell them that he couldn't come to Tryg's funeral without making them feel like Elizabeth was more important than them? That wasn't what he wanted to do at all. He loved them all he did but he had to protect Elizabeth. She was the baby and she was sick and couldn't be left alone but the girls needed him too and Mindy…his Baby Doll still needed to be found. She needed him he couldn't just leave her.

So there it was. His family was pulling him in three different directions. And there was only one of him and he felt horrible and guilty and helpless because there was so much he could really do. "Just get them here Rosenberg." He didn't even care why she was there anymore really. It was weird considering the circumstances of her quitting but whatever. He was done caring. He wanted to see the girls before they went back to Vegas and Rosenberg was now the delivery woman. Might as well make her useful if she was going to hang around. Not like he was surrounded by many useful people these days.

"My daddy I want my daddy." Chelsea was now adding her two cents.

"I'll see you soon Princess I promise," he cooed immediately. "I love you I'll see you real soon."

"Me and the Stickers."

'Yes you and the Stickers."

"I'll get the others rounded up and we'll be there soon," Julie promised.

There was a few more seconds of exchanges but it was so meaningless that he didn't even remember what was said afterwards. When he hung up he put the phone aside and just stared off at nothing. Part of him wanted to cry and he would eventually but right now he was just numb from the shock. It still hadn't really sunk in that Tryg was gone. "Maybe it isn't real," he said hopefully to the still sleeping Elizabeth. "Maybe all of this is just one big bad dream and I'll wake up real soon. What do you think Lizzie?"

Elizabeth just snuggled up against him more, her fingers absently moving on his chest as she slept. He let out a long sigh and kissed the top of her head. "It just keeps coming Lizzie. It all just keeps coming and I don't know what to do anymore. I lost you and Mommy and got you back but now Tryg is gone and…oh god when Mommy finds out…"

The rest of that went unfinished. He knew damn fucking well what Tryg meant to Mindy. That was not just one of her kids but her only boy at this point. She loved him to pieces and saw him as this perfect little angel. He was far from that; everyone else knew that from experience. Mindy though? She didn't see it. Tryg was her sweet angel and now he was gone and she was going to lose it big time. Maybe even permanently. "Oh fuck no." James shook his head and hugged Elizabeth more tightly for comfort. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't get her back from that guy and then lose her all over again no…he would get her through this. One way or a-fucking-nother he would get her through it.

…

When Cooper, Julie and the girls arrived at Houston General Cooper opted to stay in the car in case James still felt like attacking him. So Julie led the way in, holding Chelsea while having Scarlett by the hand. Scarlett had a hold of Thorn, who had Oxa by her side and Amber was on Julie's other side, lingering close but not actually holding on to her. James was waiting for them; he had Elizabeth in the crib the hospital had for her and had given her a stuffed bear he had found. She didn't like it really because it wasn't Lammy but she was still squeezing it anyway because Lammy wasn't there.

"Daddy Daddy Daddy!" Chelsea was put down by Julie so she could run into James's arms.

"Hey Princess." James scooped her into his arms and kissed her and Stickers before taking Thorn and Scarlett into his arms as well. "Angelcakes…Sugarplum…"

"We miss Tryggy Daddy," Thorn informed him, hugging his neck tightly.

"Yeah," Scarlett agreed. "We miss him Daddy."

"I miss him too," James said with a nod. He kissed their foreheads and hugged them more tightly. He saw Amber lingering back a bit and he shook his head. "Pumpkin…" He reached out and pulled her to him, hugging her too. Amber hugged him back for a minute before shaking her head.

"You're not coming with us are you?" She already knew the answer to that. Nobody else had told her any such thing but she didn't need them to. At the end of the day, no matter how much they loved him and he loved them, they weren't his actual daughters. Elizabeth was. She was not only his blood but the baby. She was going to be put before any of them.

"I would if I could," he said, actually meaning it but having the kicked puppy dog look on his face already because he was afraid that Amber would protest that claim. When she didn't he gave them all a kiss before speaking again. "I can't leave Elizabeth alone here though. She's too sick the doctors won't let her leave here and the last time she was left alone at one of these places…"

"You think she'll get taken again," Amber said as she looked over at Elizabeth. She cringed a bit at the sight of her younger sister. She was much skinnier than she had been the last time she had seen her.

James started to answer that but Elizabeth started coughing violently. "Lizzie…" James quickly went over to her and lifted her up to try to soothe her. "Lizzie Bear-"

Elizabeth just kept coughing, eventually bursting into tears because it hurt her chest with how much she was coughing. "No Lizzie ssshhh," James cooed, rubbing her back and doing anything else he could to try to calm her back down. "It's okay Lizzie, it's okay. It's going to be okay…"


	34. Chapter 34

**Illse'sPurpleSummer**: It would be nice wouldn't it? Nothing can really ever be that easy though. **jadeMK11**: No, Amber is going to be allowed to go back. She's not cancer free as of yet but she is allowed to go back for the funeral and they could just let her continue her treatment in Vegas since Taylor now has all the kids. **Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

The entire plane ride back the kids were completely miserable, but started gradually cheering up because the constant showering of free food and whatnot due to Daddy's private jet made them almost forget the death of their little brother. It was amazing to Julie, the innocence of children and their ability to just heal and move on…but in the back of the plane with Stickers in her lap and a pink iPad on top of it all was Amber. No one had been talking to her and she wasn't really speaking either, just skimming through the photo albums she had digitally of her brother. She just couldn't cry about it really. Her mother was as good as dead, her baby sister had whooping cough, her stepfather chose his own baby over all of them and wasn't too great at hiding that, and now her little brother died. Things weren't exactly swell and she knew that so why make a big fucking deal?

Cooper had been sitting alone as well, clearly pensive over something and with a lick of her plump lips Amber kind of figured out what it was.

"Why are you still stuck on my mom?"

That was for Cooper, and he shot upright with a cringe at that. Directly across from him in the back row was Amber with Stickers and the iPad, and clearly she was looking to talk.

"What'd you say?

Not buying into that game Amber's eyes narrowed, "You're still bonkers over my mom and she's married. She doesn't love you like that"

"You'd be surprised"

"My mom doesn't think through what she's doing. Clearly she likes hooking up in case you haven't noticed"

More stunned that she knew that than anything else, Cooper's eyes lifted to see the way she was just glaring at him.

"Yeah…I know your game with her by now. I knew you were hooking up"

"Why?"

"Because she told me" Amber nodded once before curling her lips and staring down at her iPad as she brought up pictures of her mother. Cooper blinked at that and ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Wait wait wait a minute…" his hopes were soaring and Amber knew it, "She TOLD you?"

"Yes" she nodded once, "Mommy tells me everything."

"Anythin-"

"Cooper…" sighing she shook her head while coming across a picture of her mother and Cooper completely saturated and laughing in the backyard while holding a garden hose. Catching that shot himself Cooper smiled weakly and traced his thumb over the picture before everything just went to shit.

_Moving into the backyard to yank Connor out of the tree house Cooper heard the trickle of the hose to his right. It was the middle of the day so possibly the sprinklers were on to keep the plants alive but nope. All alone with the garden hose was Mindy. She lied completely flat on her back while pointing the hose upwards so it shot straight into the sky and fell like a fountain all around her._

"_Mommy?"_

"_Yes, Bubblelicious?" smiling weakly but not looking over she continued to glance at the sky and sigh while doing so. Still completely confused Cooper headed closer._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Seein' the rainbow" she nodded curtly, not removing her eyes from the rainbow the water was making against the sun but Cooper nodded along anyway. Smirking he decided to be an ass._

"_Weirdo…" turning to the left he got sprayed right in the ass with a shitload of water, which automatically made him twitch out and yelp, "FUCK!" Turning around back towards Mindy there she was staring innocently at the sky still 'seein' the rainbow.' _

_"MOM!"_

"_What?" _

"_What the hell is your fucking problem?"_

"_Maybe it was the wind…" the very way she sighed that sentence was too cute to get angry so he turned around again ZAP! _

"_MOM! FUCK you with the fucking-" he whirled back around and there she was, staring at the sky and the rainbow as she shot the hose straight up into the air. "Mo-"_

"_I do not know what you are talking about"_

"_Clearly you do"_

"_Kiss my fucking ass in D-minor Cooper Benjamin Lawson"_

_Shaking his head Cooper turned around ZAP! She knew what was about to happen. Squealing loudly Mindy rolled off the ground and bolted in any random direction, screaming and careening around when Cooper grabbed her around the waist and swung her into a wedding carry._

"_You're not going ANYWHERE bitch!" grabbing the hose as she squealed and struggled he began spritzing her everywhere._

"_NO! COOPER! NO PLEASE I BEG OF THEE NO!"_

"_Shush you…" they fought to the point that she smacked him in the head and made him lose his balance, so Cooper fell right in top of her and she grunted, nearly throwing up from the impact before struggling to get free._

"_Ya fat fuckin' shit get off me! Roll your doughnuts off me let us go!" she started lightly smacking his chest when he sprayed her face before leaning down and kissing her deeply. One of his hands wove into her hair and the other trailed right down her chest once his tongue slipped into her willing mouth and they made out. _

"You know how wrong that is" Amber shook her head at Cooper and sighed, "I mean, I can't tell you what to do but that's just dick. Mom has impulse-control issues and your dad-"

"He's not my dad we all know THAT one"

"But he's batshit for Mommy and you know it" Amber shook her head before staring at the picture and flipping to the next of James holding Mindy in his arms in the pool as they made out in the middle of the night, "You're hurting him and you need to stop. He may not love us" she included him in the 'us', "but he loves my mom. I'll vouch to say more than he loved your mom and Mark combined. Every time you do shit like that you're killing him that much more because they only fight after she hooks up with YOU if you haven't noticed. You've been hooking up a lot longer than I want to think about and every time you do she fights with James. I feel so bad for him even though he's not my dad because he loves my mom. Without him my mom would die and you know that. She loves Daddy she doesn't love you. She like freaks out if she thinks she won't see Daddy for five minutes never mind five months and you're just slowly making his life a living hell. Mommy never wants to fight with Daddy. Ever. But after you hook up it makes her think things that are bad and you need to stop.

"Look…"

"Taylor loves you" it was time to address this and she was going to get to the bottom of it, "She really really loves you. Like crazy loves you."

"But…" rubbing the back of his neck he dropped his eyes and shrugged, "Amber…I"

"I think you're absolutely insane" she nodded at him with wide eyes, "Like totally insane. Here you have someone who totally and completely LOVES you and you're just making her feel like shit because she's not my mom"

"Amber…" he sighed, "I don't know how many ways I can possibly break it to you that I'm gay"

"Ah"' she nodded with raised eyebrows, "But of course. You're totally fine to bang my mom"

"I'm in LOVE with your mom you can't just change that kind of thing, alright?"

"Yeah yeah star-crossed soul mates whatever…" she waved him off, "but like, honestly? She's totally gorgeous. She loves you. She's GORGEOUS. And SHE LOVES YOU! You're ALWAYS bitching and complaining about nobody loving you and guess what? She DOES! TOTALLY! You say you're gay and yes, you have been with boys but you LOVE my mom! If you love my mom you're capable of loving another girl, alright? You don't have to MARRY her or anything, Cooper you'll just never know until you TRY! You HAVE to try shit out, okay? Don't just judge her because she's got a vag-pipe judge her based on WHO she is."

"So you're telling me to go against my entire way of life-"

"You do it for my mom"

"But I don't love her THAT way, Amber. I mean, yeah I owe her my life maybe I can love her as a sister but"

"Honestly, Cooper?" she sighed and shook her head, "Who else is jumping in line? Your boyfriend DUMPED you. Everything is just shot to shit, James hates you…I think she's done enough to earn a date. If you want to dump her after trying it that's your decision, but clearly you're not friends anymore"

"Amber I" he ran a hand through his hair and growled, still in shock he was dishing to a six-year-old, "I didn't know she was in LOVE with me or anything, alright? How is anyone supposed to fucking predict that someone's in love with them?"

"But she IS…" her eyebrows rose pointedly and she motioned him on, "So DO something. Don't be like James who completely roasted my mom on a spit by doing nothing when she told him she loved him. TRY! TRY TRY TRY! Have you ever seen Yes Man?"

"No"

"You should" she nodded with a smirk, "Because as of now you're a big old 'no man' and I don't like it at all. TRY it. You don't have to say I love you back romantically if you don't, but tell her you want to take her out. Tell her you're going for coffee or a movie or whatever it is you crazy kids do"

He smirked at that though she didn't see it.

"Maybe you don't think you love her but maybe you do and you don't know it"

"Amber, I'm one-hundred percent gay I know that for fact"

"No you don't."

"My first crush was my gym teacher who was a MAN by the way"

"And your last crush was my mother who happens to be a girl and you're dying in love with her still"

"So what's your point?"

"Go for her. You DON'T have to marry everyone you date and she's NICE Cooper and she LOVES you. She won't screw you over or leave you because you're a drug addict. She NURSED you when you were a drug addict. She took you into her HOUSE. She LOVES you. PLEASE just try for her please please please you DON'T have to get married but don't break her heart like that you'll NEVER know until you try!"

…

Taylor did the exact opposite of what was anticipated which was hang all over Cooper the second she saw him. She didn't talk to him; she didn't even look at him. At Tryg's wake she calmly played the role of Mindy and walked around trying to receive Queen Miranda's royal subjects and proudly called the young woman only ten years her senior her mother. The funeral parlor was absolutely jammed; Taylor didn't even know who ninety of the people were while the kids stood right on top of their brother's casket, unable to really move.

Cooper kept looking over at Taylor just to see how she was holding up and she didn't seem mad at him at all, in fact she wasn't. She was just assuming that 'later' meant 'get lost' so she was trying to keep her distance so he wouldn't feel smothered. She had never done that before she was always so forward with rich boy, but not anymore. Feelings were involved and she did love him so much, which made everything seven times harder than it had to be.

Connor was more than glad to see Cooper, but he also wasn't so happy because of Tryg's death. The kid was four. A ton of nasty rumors Amber heard floating around about James purposely missing the services for Tryg, and she really didn't say much to stop them. Since the mother was most likely dead people were saying it was a sign of things to come with him placing an eighteen-year-old in charge of all the kids at a wake for their own sibling. Yes Elizabeth was sick and found after being missing, but no one really saw it that way. It came off as the husband completely forsaking her children to be with the only child who was his own. Connor was legally an adult so he wasn't considered one of the 'kids.' The funeral was twice as quiet. The final rose was placed on the casket by Chelsea, who slapped the top twice before putting one of his Spiderman action figurines right in the center.


	35. Chapter 35

**Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you! **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: She's definitely wise beyond her years. She's definitely grown up the fastest of the babies. It's hard to remember sometimes that she's still a kid. **jadeMK11:** Knowing him? Probably not. And it's a shame because someone needs to do it desperately.

…

"_You know…no matter how many times I watch this I never get tired of it."_

_James balled up his fists so tightly that not only did his fingernails leave those little half moon marks behind, but his palms began to bleed as well. He was sitting in an empty movie theater, his only company being Caroline and the movie they were watching was the tape of Mindy being tortured. He had tried to leave already but there had been no exits. He was trapped there._

"_What?" Caroline had noticed the upset look on his face and was laughing about it. "You don't agree with me?" She propped her feet up on to the seat in front of her. "I mean I know the film quality itself isn't the absolute best but-"_

"_Shut up," he growled. "Just fucking shut up!" He was tired of hearing her fucking voice, tired of seeing her in his head…why couldn't she just fucking go away? She was dead. Fucking dead yet she never fucking left him. It was enough to make him want to go nuts._

_Her eyes narrowed angrily and he kept his eyes on her, trying to focus on not being intimidated but it was hard. It was hard because not only was she giving him the look that always cowed him but it was hard, not only because she was giving him the look that had always gotten to him but his attempts to ignore the tape were failing and he found himself gripping the arms of his seat and closing his eyes, his entire body trembling as he tried harder to block it out._

"_Awww, what's the matter Jamie?" Caroline's voice was filled with scorn. "Are you going to cry? Are you going to cry about the cunt getting what she des-"_

_He hit her. He didn't even think about it. Before she could even finish the rest of that sentence his fist shot out and smashed itself into her face. This wasn't necessarily the first time he had ever laid a hand on her, but all the other times he had fought back against her it had been a matter of defense. This time he just wanted her to shut the fuck up._

_Her head rocked to the side from the blow and her entire face contorted into an angry sneer. "Now that almost hurt," she told him. She went to hit him back but he caught her wrist and squeezed it tightly while giving her a hateful glare._

"_Why are you even here?" he asked. He twisted her wrist sharply, so angry with her that he just wanted to strangle her. "What do you want? What the FUCK do you want from me? Haven't you fucking done enough?"_

_Caroline didn't look even the least bit fazed by anything he had just said. "YOU'RE the one who can't let me rest JAMIE." She spat out Mindy's pet name for him like it was poison. "You're the one who never got over the fact that I never wanted you to exist in the first place." She yanked herself out of his grasp and stood up. "Fucking every day it was the same fucking thing. "Mommy, why don't you love me? Waaah, waah, I'm so pathetic Mommy. Love me even though I don't deserve it"…you were lucky I didn't take the wire hanger to you again for as much as you drove me insane. And even now you're just as pathetic. You're not only married to a complete and total whore but you take so much shit from her that it's just beyond belief. And none of it-not a single fucking thing-is ever the little bitch's fault. No, it's always "Baby Doll please, I didn't mean I'm sorry don't be mad at me please"-it's fucking pathetic!"_

_James clenched his teeth together but before he could defend himself the volume of the tape got turned up and Mindy's screams got so loud that he had to quickly slam his hands over his ears because he couldn't fucking take it. That was a mistake though on his part because it distracted him from Caroline, who laughed at him quite loudly and obnoxiously before punching him in the face. It was almost a knockout blow and he barely was able to catch himself before he fell out of his chair. When he sat himself back up she was gone and the theater was now jammed pack with people he didn't know, all of them laughing and gawking at the images on the screen._

"_Fucking STOP!" he growled, trying to grab at the people nearest to them. He wanted to kill them all for finding this entertaining. This wasn't some fucking game. This was his wife being fucking tortured. Did nobody else understand that? "Stop it fucking STOP!" He tried to get up to make it stop but a whole bunch of hands grabbed him and not only forced him to stay in his seat but they grabbed his head and made him look at the screen. _

"_DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA!"_

James woke up to the sound of Elizabeth yelling for him and touching his face. "Lizzie?" He blinked several times to try to shake off the dream he had just had and frowned at his daughter, who was still touching his face and saying his name over and over again. "Lizzie Bear? Baby what's the matter?"

Elizabeth continued to fuss and look around the room anxiously. "Ma Ma?"

James felt a sharp pain go through his heart. "Mommy's not here right now. But Daddy will find her, remember?"

Elizabeth shook her head and slapped her hands against his face impatiently. "Ma Ma Ma Ma!" She was NOT pleased by that answer at the moment. She loved her daddy but this was not right. She always had her daddy, her mommy and her Lammy and the fact that the other two were being denied to her made her one very unhappy camper.

"Lizzie Bear ssshhh. Ssshh baby please, you're going to make yourself start coughing again." James kissed her all over her face and pet her face gently. He was desperate to get her calmed back down before she worked herself up into another coughing fit. "I'll get Mommy back real soon and we'll go home and get Lammy and it'll all be okay. You'll see Lizzie it'll all be okay." Of course it wouldn't be anywhere near that simple but he wasn't going to tell her that. She was a baby she wouldn't get it and she really didn't need to know it.

Elizabeth sniffled and rested her head underneath his chin, about to close her eyes when a gentle knock on the door woke her right back up. "Mr. Lawson?" the nurse said as she opened the door and poked her head in.

"What?" he said sharply. He automatically shielded Elizabeth away from her, annoyed that she had come in and disturbed them.

"You have a visitor."

"A visitor? Who?"

The nurse opened the door a little bit more and stepped out of the way, revealing the visitor. James's eyebrows shot up; it definitely was someone he was expecting. "…Nattie?"

Natalya stepped into the room and shooed the nurse away before closing the door. "Hey Uncle James."

…

Taylor was tossing and turning restlessly on her bed when she heard the knock on her door. "Come in!" She had put the kids to bed not too long ago but figured that it was probably at least one of them coming in to sleep with her.

The door opened but to her surprise, it was Connor. "Hi," he said as she shut the door with his foot. He had a giant photo album in one hand and Snoopy in the other. He set Snoopy down to roam around on the floor and sat down on the foot of the bed.

"Hi." She sat up, trying to control the frown that was on her face. She really had not been expecting him.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Oh. Me neither. Why aren't you with Cooper though?" She knew that Connor was completely attached to Cooper and was surprised he wasn't hanging all over him.

"I tried," he replied. "But he's being all broody and not good company." He tilted his head to the side and gave her an innocent look. "Why aren't you with him? Don't you love him anymore?"

Taylor looked away. "Apparently that don't matter."

"He said no?"

"He said we would talk about it later-which I'm pretty sure is code for "get lost" so…"

Connor chewed on his bottom lip and slowly shrugged. "Maybe it don't. Maybe he means later." He saw the not so convinced look on Taylor's face and shrugged again. "I dunno. Coopy's complicated. I love him lots and lots but he makes my brain hurt a whole bunch."

Taylor couldn't stop the weak smile that came across her face at the way he said that. It didn't last more than a couple of seconds but it was there. "What do you got there?" she asked, deciding to just get the subject off of Cooper now. Not only did he make her brain hurt, but her heart ached as well.

"Pictures," Connor replied. "I couldn't sleep so I got my pictures. I was going to look at them with Coopy but he's being a broody butt so I'm going to look with you instead." The way he said it obviously showed that he thought there was no room for argument.

"Okay." Taylor was just going to go with it. It wasn't like she could really sleep and she needed something to maybe help take her mind off of things.

Connor flipped open the book and immediately pointed to the picture of a brunette woman holding a small infant in her arms. "That's my mommy. She was holding me in that picture." He pointed to the picture below it. "That was my ferret Stinker. I liked him I did but he died a long time ago. It made me sad." He flipped the page and pointed to another picture. "That was Coopy."

Taylor's lips twitched as she looked at the black and white school picture of Cooper, who couldn't have been more than seven or eight at the time. He had been a cute little kid.

"He likes that picture because it don't show his real hair color." Connor pointed out another picture, which was of him and Cooper. He couldn't have been more than a year old, which put Cooper at about age six and Taylor couldn't help the giggle that escaped her as she looked at his naturally bright red hair.

"Yeah." Connor was giggling too. "He hates it lots and lots cuz he got it from Mark. He always hated Mark lots and lots."

"I remember."

The next few pages they went through were really old family ones, taken before "Mommy's cancer" according to Connor. Then there were the pets: Sparky (James's pitbull), Spot (Cooper's English sheepdog that had no spots of any kind on it-someone needed to ask him about the logic behind that name), Spencer (James's English bulldog he rescued from the streets), more photos of Stinker, Suzy Q (Connor's boy hamster with a girl name-Taylor just rolled with that one because she figured there was no logic behind that naming decision) and of course, Snoopy and Spike. "And here's a lot of Daddy's friends that he made when he and Mark were still together. They were all wrestlers." Connor nodded along at his own words. "That's Uncle Bret-"

"You're related?"

"No but we called him our uncle. Daddy had a brother named Jacob and he would have been our uncle but he died before we were born. And Crispy Critter didn't count for Cooper because he didn't acknowledge Mark as his real daddy." Connor nodded firmly. "And that was Uncle Owen. I liked him lots he was my favorite. But he died…he had a bad accident in the ring and he died." He shook his head and turned the page so Taylor could see a picture of him, Cooper and a blonde girl she didn't know. "That's me and Cooper and Nattie. She's Jim's daughter. I like her I played with her a lot when I went to Canada for awhile."

"Oh." Cooper was obviously about thirteen in the picture and while Nattie was grinning and hamming it up for the camera, her body language showed she was trying to get more near Cooper, who seemed to be just trying to ignore it the best he could.

"And here's…oh." Connor sighed at the picture of him, Cooper and a tranny. "That's Joie. You know about Joie?"

Taylor nodded. "Mom told me…I never saw a picture of him though."

"He was a tranny," Connor said, nodding all wisely and shit. "I didn't know why because I tried to dress in girl's clothes once and I didn't think it was comfortable at all. But he was nice and Coopy loved him. Daddy told me he was Coopy's first love."

"Mom told me that too." Taylor fidgeted uncomfortably. This was just a very weird and awkward conversation to have, especially with Connor.

"I don't know why Coopy won't just date you," Connor said with a big shrug. "I mean, I know he's all hung up on Mindy but either she's dead or even if Daddy gets her back he won't let her go ever. And I don't think Jeff will ever get over the whole him raping Mindy thing and then there was the me thing…and Joie's dead but he's never gotten over him ever. He should though. Joie died and he can't ever come back." He closed the album and reached down to pet Snoopy on his head as he sat down by his feet. "You wanna watch a movie?"

"Okay." Taylor actually didn't really feel like it, but then again, she wasn't really in the mood for much of anything so what would it hurt? It was better than just laying there and totally failing at not thinking about all the shit that was on her mind.

…

"Here." Nattie handed James the meal she had picked up for him at Burger King. "Eat. You look like complete shit."

James slowly took it from her. "I-"

"No. Don't even try to object. You look like shit you need to eat."

He opened his mouth to object but then she opened the bag and he caught a big whiff of its contents. His hunger immediately got the best of him and he whipped out his Whopper and fries and started tearing into all of it with great zeal. Elizabeth stared at him with wide eyes before looking at Nattie, who laughed at the look on her face before gently brushing her hair away from her face. "Daddy eats like a pig don't he honey?"

"PIG!" Elizabeth shouted and James accidentally inhaled part of his mouthful of food and spent the next several minutes coughing violently. "Fuck…"

"Fuck!" Elizabeth clapped her hands together and looked at James for approval.

"Oh Lizzie don't," Natalya scolded gently while James shook his head and took a drink of his Dr. Pepper. He was still feeling the effects of choking on his food.

Elizabeth blew a raspberry at her before continuing to show how her vocabulary had just been expanded. "Pig fuck pig fuck pig fuck!"

"Oh…my…god…" Nattie put her hand over her mouth and shook her head as James just stared at his daughter with wide eyes. "Only your child…"

James shook his head and tapped Elizabeth on the nose gently. "You can't say those words together Lizzie. Talking about pig fucking is not polite."

"Pig fuck pig fuck!"

James gave her a French fry and she quieted right down. "So what brought you here? I mean, it's not like we've had a rush of visitors-"

"I wanted to come before this, alright?"

"Vinnie Mac cracking the whip hard?"

"House shows, Superstars and promotional stuff. I think he knows I would rather be with you and is taking out his hatred of you on me."

"He still hates me? Now that's harsh. I never did anything that bad to him."

"Apparently he thinks you did."

James would have normally started to defend himself but he didn't feel up to it and his phone rang anyway. He fed Elizabeth another French fry and grabbed it, his heart freezing inside of his chest when he saw the number that flashed on the screen.

"James?" Nattie saw the look that crossed James's face and her own stomach twisted in anxiety. "What is it?"

James ignored her and pressed the button to answer the call. "Where is she?" he growled.

The man chuckled coldly. "Hello to you too _Jamie…_"


	36. Chapter 36

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer: **Fanfic loves to be a bitch to everyone. It's just how it is. And yeah, I agree that it's cute. **jadeMK11**: All is forgiven. Even if it wasn't though, she wouldn't be bringing anything up now. **Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

James nearly threw up from hearing that voice and clutched Elizabeth as close as he could get her.

"You must be thrilled, huh? To finally have your precious sick baby back?"

"Uncle James, who is that?" Natalya frowned and pouted her lips at the way James had completely paled at that.

"Look…" running a hand over his face and hugging Elizabeth close James was starting to piece together that screaming his brains out at the guy and threatening slow and painful death wouldn't do much, "I just want my wife back...please…" he exhaled slowly, "that's all I want. If you give her to me I won't sell you out…" he couldn't believe he was saying all this but it was time to swallow his pride as a man since it was necessary with this sick fuck, "I won't threaten you…I won't report you to the police…I won't do a thing I don't even have to SEE you, just PLEASE give me back my wife…please…"

"Awww Jamie…" laughing cruelly he sighed, "see…that was so sweet of you to start begging me like the bitch that you are right now…but unfortunately I think you're a bit late"

James handed Elizabeth off because he didn't know how he was going to react to this.

"James…" Natalya put a hand on his shoulder but he smacked her hand off subconsciously and began to vibrate uncontrollably.

"Wh-what do you mean 'late'?" James was panicking on cue, "What the fuck does that mean, what are you talking about?"

"Ooo…" he breathed through his teeth and sighed, "you see…I haven't heard a damn thing from you in so long I forgot all about you owning my pretty little showhorse…she's so pretty, isn't she?"

"What did you do to her?" that was asked so flatly Natalya had to stand with Elizabeth in her arms and back off. James was actually frightening and he didn't even realize it he was too into the conversation over his missing wife.

"Me?" he shrugged, "I didn't do anything. She was the one who didn't eat a damn thing until her little body just kinda went kaput."

James trembled violently, "What…?"

"Oh yeah" he sighed and tsked her, "Stupid little thing. I tried feeding her a little and just nothing worked. All she really fucking bitched about was her 'Jamie' and how badly she wanted him there…and I don't know she just wouldn't take nothing. Then she got a little thinner and I couldn't wake her up anymore"

"Where is she?" his hands were rattling with fear, "Where's my Baby Doll? What did you do to her WHAT DID YOU FUCKING DO TO HER?"

"Pfft" he snorted, "Don't bother, she's dead."

"I don't believe you…"

"Oh…you don't?" he frowned, "See I knew you'd say something along the lines of that, Jamie. So I kind of, you know…ripped her little still-beating heart from her chest and put it nice in a pretty package for you. I mailed it to the hospital you and that baby are stuck at so you should have received it by now, don't you think?"

That made James sick. Immediately he rushed to the front desk and pounded his palms to the front table to scare the hell out of the young nurse.

"My name is James Lawson did anything come here for me?"

The bitch didn't answer quick enough so he got frantic.

"DID ANYTHING FUCKING COME FOR ME?"

"Uh…" curling her lips immediately she walked to the back and scanned the packages until a brown one with 'LAWSON' written on it came into view and she nodded, "yes, sir this one is for you"

"Fucking excellent give it to me" literally ripping it out of her hands he started to walk away when she shouted after him.

"HEY! You have to sign for that!"

"Kiss my ass" he gave her the finger as he walked away and she gasped, "There's my signature" heading into the men's bathroom in a rush he confined himself to the handicapped stall and ripped open the tape with his bare hands to find a bloodstained cloth in the box under a bunch of shredded newspaper. "Oh no…" shaking his head frantically he tore the cloth open to find a tiny Mindy-sized heart drenched in blood at the bottom of the box. His hand went over his mouth and he trembled violently.

…

"It's sad really…" Amber sighed as she and Taylor were watching Uptown Girls and painting their nails in Amber's room, "how Cooper doesn't realize what's in front of him because he's so stuck on my mom"

"It's just…" sniffling Taylor ran a hand through her platinum blonde hair and shrugged, "I thought he was gay as the day is long, you know?"

"Oh I know" Amber nodded with wide eyes, "Trust me I know very well. He was supposed to be a butt pirate and then he met my mommy and the world started to make sense to him and yadda yadda yadda. It's kind of pathetic actually how he can just make his world revolve around somebody who doesn't love him"

"You know what I don't get?" Taylor shrugged and reached out to tuck some of Amber's gorgeous long wavy blonde hair behind her ear, and Amber answered her with a jerk of the head.

"Shoot"

"Who made you the expert on relationships, you know?" she giggled and smirked at her little sister, not trying to be mean at all but more astonished than anything, "I mean, you're six but you know more about crap than my best stripper friends did"

Nodding along to the peculiarity of that Amber shrugged and yawned a bit, "You're not the only person to ask me that…" she sighed, "it's not like I'm a test tube kid or anything."

"No no no I don't mean that, Ambs, you know what I mean"

"I do…" she looked up at the screen before her older sister, "Mommy knows a lot about boys and stuff she's actually really smart with them. I mean James was GAY and she made him totally straight. James had a steady BOYFRIEND of forty years and Mommy got him to love her sort of…so" she shrugged, "I learned a lot from her because I watched her fail too. I've seen everything, she tells me everything, and certain things are just common sense"

"I think you're very observant"

"Mommy is my only friend" she looked Taylor in the eye and nodded along, "but she's the only friend I really ever want. People are just such phonies and bullshit artists it's hard to find anybody really worth believing or listening to these days. I love my sisters and I loved my brother and I love you…but nobody is quite like my Mommy, you know?"

Taylor smiled thinly and nodded along, "Oh yeah she's something else, alright. I was a superfan before I met Cooper"

"I'm glad you did" she nodded and stared at Taylor with soft eyes, "You deserved a lot better than the way you were living"

"Nah" she shrugged and wrinkled her nose, "I wasn't miserable or anything I mean, I made ends meet"

"People judge though"

"I hated my jobs" she nodded along, "but without even a GED not much gets done, you know? I was seventeen and living completely on my own, that's not even legal."

"How long did it take for you to fall in love with Cooper?"

Taylor frowned and tucked some long blonde hair behind her ear, "You don't think he doesn't like me because of my ex-jobs, do you?"

"As someone who prostituted himself for crack I'd say he has no room to talk" Amber shrugged, "I mean, you never did drugs right?"

"I smoked and I drank" she nodded admittedly right away, "Not weed though only cigarettes"

"James used to smoke and Mommy smokes when no one is looking" she nodded worriedly, "James never knew what she does but I did. She never listened when I told her to stop but what can ya do?"

"Does she realize how deadly they are for you?"

Amber just stared, "I think that's the point of her smoking them."

"And no one DOES anything about that?"

"I love James, I do…" Amber nodded along with a shrug, "but he doesn't fully get it. I mean, he gets her the most of her boyfriends and Cooper was just useless"

"He's tried?"

"Yeah" she shrugged indifferently, "You think he has the slightest idea about what to do with a violent paranoid schizophrenic?"

"He's so sweet though…" Taylor smiled softly and stared at the screen when Amber shook her head with a sigh.

"If he really were that nice he would have given you an answer right now instead of making you hang onto nothing like he is now. Cooper is an attention-seeking self-loathing know-it-all lazy mother fucker."

"Don't hold back, Ambs, Jesus! Tell me how you really feel!"

"He puts a hand on me and Mommy will roast him. He even LOOKS at me the wrong way and my Mommy will roast him, just like Connor"

"I spent some time with him…" Taylor nodded weakly and played with Amber's hair, "he called Mom by her name and-"

"He does that" her face fell, "I have no idea why but he does that"

"Well you call James by his real name"

"He raped and beat my Mommy he is lucky I consider him a human being"

"Well Connor was showing me a bunch of pictures and one of his real mom"

"He's an inbred, you know that right?" a light eyebrow rose and Taylor nodded along.

"I do…" she sighed and Amber snorted coldly, "It's so fucked up. And my mom is madly in love with someone who fully is behind inbreeding. You hear about people like James on the news and here my mommy is dying in love with him. She picks the worst guys ever"

"His mom was pretty" Taylor nodded with a shrug, "generic though, you know what I mean?" she pouted her thin lips at Amber, "Like, she was nothing extraordinary. I feel like I could find a thousand other girls with that exact look"

"Probably" Amber nodded once, "I've seen her too. She was really REALLY pretty, I admit it…" she shrugged, "but again, she doesn't stand out. Being beautiful isn't enough, I could find her anywhere"

"Don't say that to Mr. Lawson" her eyes widened in fear and Amber shook her head with wide eyes.

"Holy HELL no! I would be so frigging dead"

"What does Mom think?"

"Mommy…" Amber sighed and played with her own long blonde hair, "Mommy would look at a trashbag and say it's prettier than her. Mommy is more beautiful than she will ever know or believe. Nobody will ever have a pair of eyes like that. Ever."

"Oh god those eyes…" Taylor nearly shuddered, "they're PIERCING, you know? I actually stop dead sometimes when she looks at me. I've never seen anyone with eyes like THAT. Blue is one thing, we all have blue, but MOM'S?"

"She never wore contacts either, and her eyebrows are waxed so awesome and her eyelashes are super long to make them pop…she's a gorgeous person but she will never ever see it."

"It's a shame"

"I know. And people like James make her feel like an ugly little insignificant piece of garbage. Now you may slightly understand why I don't like him."

…

Keeping both Stickers and Fievel in a deathlock and not caring whether they hated each other or not Chelsea sat on the couch in the den flipping through channels to find something which suited her fancy. Mommy and Daddy weren't home and she was beyond ticked and annoyed because she wanted to play with them. She hadn't seen Mommy in a long time and it was making her depressed, so she grabbed a pair of her mother's largest white-framed sunglasses and stuck them on her face. Maybe Mommy would come home with Daddy.

"You stop!" she shouted at Stickers as he tried to nip at Fievel and squeezed his neck tighter, pouting her plump lips and still going until she came across a news broadcast with a picture of her mother's face on it.

"The death of Mindy Stratus has caught all of Hollywood off-guard and completely sideswiped America as the reigning princess of entertainment for over a decade was found dead with her heart actually shipped in a package to her husband at the hospital which their sick daughter was staying at. She was twenty-nine. Days earlier Stratus's young son Trygger died in an accident inside of his own home. Police and forensics are working on the case to find her body, but the world will mourn this tragic loss. Stratus's husband James Lawson has yet to make a public comment on his wife's untimely passing"

Chelsea took one look at the screen and began to sob so violently she was screaming.


	37. Chapter 37

**jadeMK1**1**: **That's what the kidnapper's saying…and the heart is all the evidence James has of it. **Illse'sPurpleSummer**: Such a sad situation. As if this family hasn't gone through enough. **Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

"_Shark week is like the best week ever created," James declared as he snuggled closer to Mindy. The both of them sitting up on their bed, their eyes glued firmly to their television. Tiffany had taken Connor, Tryg and Amber and the twins to the park, which left Chelsea and Elizabeth with Mommy and Daddy. Elizabeth was resting comfortably on Mindy's chest, chewing on Lammy's face while alternating her gaze between the TV and Chelsea, who was on James's lap. "Like really it's just…you know I used to want a pet shark really really bad. I still kind of do actually."_

_Mindy giggled loudly and kissed him. "You think so too?"_

"_Mhm. I saw Jaws and was like that's it. I needed a pet shark that would eat people."_

_She frowned a bit and reached up to gently pet his face. "Weren't you afraid of the shark eating you?"_

"_No. I would have been it's shark master." James nodded firmly and accepted the kiss she gave him greedily, sliding his tongue into her mouth all too eagerly._

"_Daddy!" Chelsea looked back at him and tugged at his shirt until he stopped kissing Mindy to look at her. "That's" she pointed to the shark on the TV "a shark."_

_He immediately grinned and nodded. "Yes Princess! That IS a shark!" He gave her a big kiss and she immediately shoved a marshmallow in his mouth._

"_Watch!" she ordered while nodding her head. "Watch sharks Daddy."_

_James nodded along because he was too busy trying to chew the marshmallow in his mouth to respond verbally._

_Mindy giggled and kissed his cheek while playing with her daughter's hair affectionately. "The princess knows Daddy is whipped to her."_

"_Daddy is whipped to all his lovely ladies." James kissed the back of Mindy's hand and looked at Elizabeth, who was actually glaring at Chelsea. "Lizzie?" He reached out and gently touched his daughter's cheek. "What is it Lizzie Bear?"_

_Elizabeth continued to frown and reached over so she could smack Chelsea's arm. "MY da da!"_

_Chelsea's eyes narrowed and she gave Elizabeth quite the dirty look. "No, that's MY daddy!"_

"_No no no!" Elizabeth waved Lammy around and shook her head. "No no no!"_

"_Yes! MY daddy!" She hugged James tightly to prove her point. "My daddy. My best daddy."_

_Mindy shook her head and gave both of her daughters big kisses. "He's both of your daddy and he loves you both very very much." She smiled at James and gave him a big kiss. "And I love him."_

_He grinned and gave her a kiss back. "I love you more Baby Doll."_

"_No, I love YOU more."_

James was screaming. He didn't know at what point he started and he didn't know how long he had been doing it now. His screams had attracted all kinds of attention and several people had come in and seen the heart in the box he was holding. Nobody could get it from him though. They had tried but he had lashed out so badly that everyone was too terrified to be anywhere near him. This was Mindy's heart. His Baby Doll's heart. Keeping it in his grasp was not a good thing because it was driving him more and more insane by the second. But he couldn't let it go. No he couldn't let it go. This was Baby Doll's heart he had to keep it. Baby Doll's….she was dead. It wasn't processing inside of his brain. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real. His Baby Doll wasn't dead this couldn't be fucking happening.

"_Jamie where are you?" Mindy asked as she came into the house. She had been out doing a radio appearance and had been bombarded by the kids but no James. That made her frown in confusion. James was almost always right there waiting for her when she came in the front door and when he wasn't it was usually because he was doing something with one of the babies. But all the kids had come running, with the exception of Elizabeth, who had been carried to her by Tiffany. "Jamie?" She looked around and went upstairs to check their bedroom. "Jamie are you up here?"_

_James's instincts were to call out to her and let her know where he was. But he forced himself to keep quiet and stay hidden, his eyes lighting up automatically when she came into the bedroom and didn't see where he was hiding._

"_Jamie?" She frowned and pouted her lower lip when she didn't see him. "Jamie where are you this isn't fun-"_

"_Shark attack!" James sprang out from his hiding spot and snaked his arms around Mindy's waist, lifting her up in the air and jumping on to the bed with her, him taking most of the impact before rolling on top of her_

"_Waaah! JAMIE!" She shrieked as he began nomming all over body. "Jamie!" She laughed as he lifted up her dress and nommed on her stomach. "Sharks live in WATER Jamie!"_

"_I'm a LAND shark Baby Doll!" He gave her a huge grin that made her melt instantly and she kissed him hard, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck to get him even closer._

James was crying harder while repeatedly banging his head against the walls of the stall he was still in. The force he was doing it would have knocked any other man silly but not only did he have a harder than average head but he just wasn't capable of feeling anything beyond the horrible sensation inside his chest. The instant he saw the heart in the package that had been it. He had been done. If anyone had thought he had snapped before they had only seen the tip of the iceberg. Everyone said Elizabeth was his heart and really they were right. That baby had him so much it was unbelievable. But that didn't mean Mindy didn't have his heart as well and the little pint sized rockstar had been his world. Had been…had been…the words were foreign and horrible but now they were the truth. His mind was refusing them with all of its might. It wouldn't accept them, COULDN'T accept them…there was no world without Mindy. She never believed it. She had always been open about the fact that she believed he would be just fine if anything happened to her. What did she matter to him? He wasn't Annabelle or Mark. Annabelle had been his "light" and he had survived after losing her. What would it matter if she died?

What she never got though was just how dependent he was on her. How much he really was clinging to her. He had loved Annabelle and Mark and had put Belle on a pedestal and had willingly ignored Mark's shitty behavior as much as he could so he wouldn't have to be alone…but it really just didn't even compare to what he felt for her. She was on a pedestal for him; she probably wouldn't have believed it if he told her but she was. Nothing she ever did was wrong. Not ever. A lot of people accused her of being a bitch and could point out a laundry lists of flaws about her but not him. Not for a single instant could he ever do that. His whole world revolved around her. She did nothing wrong. Not ever. When she had problems with other people, it was their fault and James hated them for not seeing what he saw when he looked at her. When they had problems, it had nothing to do with her. It was him. He was the bad one, he was the worthless one. It was him, not her. Never her. Never ever.

"_Jamie Jamie ssshhh!" Mindy kissed James all over his face as he continued to tremble violently. It was around five in the morning and she had been woken up by his screaming. "Jamie baby ssshhh. No no Jamie please…"_

_James's entire body was shaking and covered in sweat. He had dreamed that Caroline was back in his body and was using it to hurt Mindy once again and there had been nothing he could do to stop it. The things he did to her…just the thought of it made him roll off the bed, landing hard on his hands and knees before pushing himself and stumbling into the bathroom so he could drop down in front of the toilet and gag violently into it. He threw up everything he ate that day, the bile burning his throat and the force of it making his eyes water uncontrollably. _

"_James!" Mindy rubbed his back until he was done throwing up. "James baby what was it? Was it Mommy and the hanger again?"_

_He managed to shake his head. "Mom had me…" it was hard to talk when he was so out of breath. "She had my body…she was making me hurt you again." He sat back and tried to breathe, shaking his head some more as she petted his hair. "I should have stopped her I should have made her stop-"_

"_Jamie it wasn't your fault," Mindy told him for what felt like the millionth time. "You didn't do anything wrong."_

_James tried regain his composure but then he saw the scar on her neck that matched his own. The scar he gave her. Sure it was Caroline in the driver's seat when it happened but it was his hands that did it and it was his mother that he had been too weak to fight off…it was all his fault. "I'm sorry," he croaked out, burying his face into her neck and trying to control his sobs. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm-"_

"_James no!"_

"Uncle James!" Natalya was completely scared out of her mind by what she was seeing. She had seen grief plenty of times; her family had had it's share of losses. But this…this was just beyond anything she had seen. James had backed himself into the corner of the stall, his face beet red and drenched in tears. The most horrible screams were coming out of his mouth. It sounded like someone was in there with him, killing him. Mindy's heart was still in his hands and he would not let it go. The people that had tried to get it had gotten hit. Hard. James obviously didn't even know what he was doing though. When she did manage to get a look in his eyes she saw nothing beyond the tears. It was doubtful he even knew where he was anymore. He was just gone. Completely and totally gone.

"Da Da Da!" Elizabeth was screaming and crying for James but nobody would let her near him. He hadn't once heard her during all this.

"I think we're going to have to sedate him," one of the doctors said.

"You want to get near enough to him to do it?"

"Well-"

Natalya couldn't take hearing anymore. This was all becoming way too much. She quickly retreated out of the room, hugging Elizabeth more tightly as she began to scream even more.

"DA DA DA DA!"

_Unbeknownst to the sleeping Mindy, James was still awake and watching over her as she and Elizabeth were nestled comfortably on top of him. One of his hands were playing with her long hair and the other was resting on her stomach, where little Aiden was growing inside of her. Elizabeth was supposed to have been it for babies. When they had gotten together they had said she would be it because Mindy's body couldn't handle anymore. Mindy had nearly died during that placental abruption…her womb had been taken out…that had been it. Elizabeth was supposed to be their only child together. But now she had a new uterus and she was pregnant again, this time with his first boy in twenty four years. And there was so much he wanted to do differently this time. He knew Mindy believed he hadn't been excited about her being pregnant with Elizabeth. She believed she forced him into it and even when he told her she didn't really believe him. And with all the drama surrounding that time of their lives, he didn't get to fully bask in the glow of him being a father again. _

_This time would be different though. It had to be. He had his Baby Doll and she was having a baby once again. He was worried sick about her pre-eclampsia striking again but the thought of being a daddy again did thrill him. He had been despised by his own parents and when Cooper had been born he had taken responsibility as father, subconsciously because he wanted a baby because it would love him unconditionally. No matter how fucked up he was, no matter how worthless he was, a baby wouldn't see that. Not until it got older anyway._

James took the heart out of the box and held it in one of his hands, his other hand going over his mouth as he continued to sob. It wasn't just his wife that he had lost. That in itself had just killed him. But Aiden…if Mindy was dead Aiden was dead too. His unborn baby, who didn't even get a chance at anything had been ripped away from him. For what? What had been all of this for? What the fuck had his family done to deserve this shit?

The answer was quite simple really. It was him. It was his fault. In his calls the man had made it pretty clear he was mind fucking him. That meant he had done something to him, wronged him in some way…and his family had paid for it. Elizabeth had been spared but at the cost of her being sick and starved and Mindy and Aiden…it wasn't just the man that had killed them. He had killed them. He killed his own family.

Without knowing it he was on his feet again. He pushed his way past the doctors and nurses and security guards and went to the mirror ahead of him. He wasn't looking at his reflection. He couldn't bear to do it he hated himself so much. He kept his eyes locked on his wife's heart before using his free hand to smash the window, making sure to drag his wrists against the broken shards of glass as hard as he could.

"Mr. Lawson!"

James smashed his wrist against the glass again just as a bunch of hands grabbed him and pulled him away. He tried to fight his way free, his eyes catching the sight of the broken glass embedded in his bleeding wrist. He almost did get free but somebody jabbed a needle into him and the hands kept a strong hold of him as he went completely limp.


	38. Chapter 38

**Esha Napoleon**: I know : ( Poor guy. And thank you. **Illse'sPurpleSummer**: I second that sad face. **jadeMK11**: We're gonna find out for one hundred percent sure right now. **cathy**: Thank you

…

Opening the door to the small pocket of dark space a very dim light shone into the small closet to reveal a small clump of raven hair completely weary and thin lying on the closet floor. A small bump protruded from her lower abdomen and the moment the door was opened the ice blue eyes lifted. Her head was severely bruised and she had an infected gash from where he bashed her skull in.

"And how are WE today, pretty little showhorse?"

Mindy nearly vomited from hunger but said nothing. Instead she hung her head and just coughed whatever she could up.

"Aw…" he watched her clutch her lower abdomen while vomiting and chuckled, "you still sick, showhorse?"

Saying nothing she just glared hatefully before coughing and sniffling. The collar around her neck was nearly hanging off because she had gotten so skinny. He could count her ribs and Aiden was literally eating away her muscle tissue to keep himself alive. Mindy had become nearly half her size because Aiden had to literally eat away her body to stay alive. She wasn't losing the baby so as far as she was concerned he could eat away her bones and everything else in her as long as he was able to be born alive. The last thing James needed was for his baby to die.

"Well guess who I talked to today?" bending down so his hands rested on his knees condescendingly he gave Mindy a phony smile and she tried to growl, "Your precious Jamie sure loves you, Baby Doll…he loves you so much he stopped looking for you!"

Mindy looked even sicker and he nodded happily.

"Oh I know how much that hurts, my pretty little fucking showhorse trust me. I know how upset you must be. You worked so hard trying to hold onto that baby when he don't even WANT you…" he relished the way her eyes glazed over, "Don't believe me? It's all over the news, showhorse. Your man's moved on. Gave up on ya"

Mindy nearly died at that very statement. Her chest got tight, she gagged, she heaved…

"Awwwww showhorse I know how you must feel now…your beautiful precious JAMIE has moved on from you without even really looking for you. Kind of puts things into perspective for you now, doesn't it? How he never wanted you to begin with? The inbreeding fudge packer wants no part of your sorry ass anymore, sweetheart! You're OLD news! NOBODY is looking for you anymore, pretty little showhorse. You keep holding onto that baby when you can just let it go before you die before he gets to see the light of day. Here…" out of his pocket came a pocket knife and he dropped it on the floor within Mindy's grasp, "You can fix that pretty little showhorse I know you can…"

Eyeing that pocket knife Mindy's large blue eyes widened and she shook her head, which clearly he didn't like.

"What?" he stalked closer, "What'd you say, showhorse?

Saying nothing she shifted her position balancing herself on her child sized hands and he nodded along at her.

"Oh I see…you don't believe me about your JAMIE, huh? Well he ain't coming for you. I talked to him already and the search is off. Some Mark figure came back into his life and he forgot all about you and the damn baby."

Out of nowhere she started sobbing loudly, and so he laughed at her. She was so fucking pathetic for him he laughed at her.

"Don't run out of breath now!"

She began heaving. Hyperventilating and gagging she stared at the floor and just suddenly stopped on a dime. Her head lolled back against the wall and she simply looked ready to die.

"Awwwww I'm sorry, pretty little showhorse…" he cocked his head while watching her hold a hand over her lower abdomen and shake her head at the poker, which he didn't appreciate at all, "What? Are you fucking kidding me? He DOESN'T. WANT YOU. IDIOT."

With quivering lips she dipped her head because she knew that.

"He GAVE UP on you! Moved on! You're FINISHED. Get RID of the thing before it eats you from the inside out!"

"Good" was all she said to that and curled in a ball against the wall. If she was better off dead than so be it.

"Good?" scowling he stormed towards her while dangling the knife, "I tell you if you don't cut that thing out that you're DEAD and HOW do you react? HUH?" he lifted her chin and let her eyes drop to the side, "You are GOING to DIE you dumb bitch!"

"Good."

SMACK!

Her head snapped to the side but she felt nothing. Instead she just lolled her head to the side and looked at him out the corner of her eye. The little bitch truly didn't care what happened to her body.

"You know he don't give a shit if you make it out of this, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why go through all the heartache, huh?" flicking the knife towards her she stared at the blade without fear, so instead he went for the jugular with her and grabbed a handful of lengthy beautiful raven hair, "Hmmm….we know how much THIS means to you, right? We know all about our pretty beautiful HAIR, right?"

"No."

"No?" smacking her across the face again he watched her head just hit the wall before cutting into the infected wound on her head, actually cutting off a large piece of her scalp with hair attached to it and she just let it happen. In fact she went limp on the ground and let the blood pour from her skull onto the floor. It didn't even seem real anymore she truly didn't care. He could have lobbed her tits off she'd give less of a reaction. "You're fucking pathetic, you know that?" eyeballing her tiny body he began to laugh louder, "What did he EVER see in you, pretty little showhorse? No wonder he forgot all about ya so fast."

With that he snapped a bunch of pictures and slapped the door shut, carrying part of Mindy's scalp with him along with the tripod.

…

James opened his eyes to see Mindy's heart had been taken from him and he panicked. Even though he was in the hospital bed he ripped the IV out of his arm and rolled right off, but six different nurses rushed in to hold him back.

"James NO! PLEASE Mr. Lawson stay in bed PLEASE!" they tried to hold him but it was no use, so a needle was jabbed in James's arm by a male nurse to sedate him, but it didn't help. He was still violently tearing the room out for Baby Doll's heart. It wasn't there it wasn't there.

Elizabeth's screaming caught his eye as Natalya appeared in the doorway holding a brown package.

"It's for you…" she knew he shouldn't have it but who knew. Unable to even get his hands to work right James tore open the package to find pictures of his wife's corpse lying on the ground completely pale and sickly along with the next surprise…a chunk of her scalp with hair attached and a few of her fingernails torn straight from her hands.

…

Sitting in James's office Chelsea had her set of Crayola crayons with over two hundred colors in the large box on his desk next to the large canvas Mindy usually used for painting. She was in Daddy's swivel office chair and she had an completely unreadable expression on her chubby baby face.

A yellow crayon was in her hand as she scribbled away and the door slowly opened behind her. Sneaking in behind her was Scarlett, whose face was completely tear-stained and Chelsea didn't notice. She still drew on the paper much like her mother did when interrupted and before kissing the side of her baby sister's curled blonde locks Scarlett just had to catch a glimpse of the canvas.

Chelsea had used a green for the grass and had two mounds of gray which clearly were supposed to be tombstones. Further trailing her eyes up Scarlett caught sight of the two figures with large angel wings. One had a mane of raven hair, large blue dots for eyes, long eyelashes, and an angel dress and it had a smiley face with extended arms. Right next to the raven-haired angel who clearly was their mother was a blonde haired blue-eyed little boy angel who clearly was Tryg. Scarlett was already silently crying when she saw at the bottom there was a little scribble of yellow with blue dots for eyes reaching up for the raven-haired angel.

Tears fell down Scarlett's face in buckets and her face buried into Chelsea's shoulder, sobbing her brains out.

"I love you Chelsea, I love you I love you!" kissing her sister's hair it didn't take long for Chelsea to start screaming too and nearly rip her picture from frustration.

"MOMMY!" Chelsea wailed and slammed her palms to the desk repeatedly, "MOMMY! MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY!"

"No…" Scarlett shook her head to the point that tears were dripping over her nose and she traced her fingers over the raven haired angel, "Chels, Mommy's not coming back…you know that. Mommy and Tryggy are with the angels now…"

Hearing that outside the door Amber hugged her knees to her chest and trembled violently. She hadn't said a single word to anyone since the news broke. Instead she put on one of her mother's nightgowns and a black Stratusfear hoodie with her band's emblem on it. She knew she shouldn't have but she went through her mother's bedroom just to touch anything she could which belonged to her. She'd gone through her own personal photo albums since she assumed James had none and just stared by herself for hours. Her gray stuffed cat she had practically from birth which she named Kanga Cat sat in her arms and she remembered the very day her mother had gone out and bought it for her. Babies weren't supposed to retain memory before the age of three but she did remember. She remembered everything about her mother. Her mother outside of her sisters was really all she had. And now she was gone, which meant Amber truly had nothing in her life.

…

Letting her toes dip in the pool water Taylor truly had no idea even what to think. Mindy was dead and she loved her like crazy. She had gone from superfan to adopted daughter because of what she did for Cooper and now she was gone. She did love her dearly and now she felt a gaping hole in her chest. Not to mention her and the kids. She was officially legal so technically if Mr. Lawson wanted to kick her out on her ass, he could. He could do away with all of them. The kids weren't his and if he wanted they could all be gone like that. She had no real way to know what James would do to them all. She wasn't even sure if he truly loved Mindy, there was no real way for her to know anything. Clearly his feelings for Elizabeth were apparent but Mindy was just a spouse. She was expendable. He could always get another one. He had demonstrated that according to both Amber and Mindy many-a-time that he could easily make their lives a living hell. He couldn't even leave his boyfriend for her so he led her on like a sixteen year old girl.

What she would do for money began to settle in and scare her. She knew Cooper, Connor, and Elizabeth would stay under James' wing but she had so many little ones to care for without a real job. She knew James was Mindy's conservator of her estate so he had control of all her billion dollar empire.

Taking a few quick breaths Taylor stood up to gather herself and go back inside to probably prepare the little girls for the inevitable when Cooper was standing in the doorway just watching her sit by the pool. Keeping silent at first Taylor tried hard to contain herself but it was so hard. So many things she wanted to say but didn't. Clearly he was just standing there because he was Cooper and that's the type of shit he did. Nothing could be taken as a sign.

But his eyes…they were so unbelievably blue. If Mindy were a boy she would be Cooper. The two looked like identical twins. Put a wig on Cooper and he was Mindy. Shave Mindy's head she was Cooper.

Curling her lips she went to pull open the French handle to go inside, but he blocked the way.

"Cooper…" staring at the handle she meekly crossed her arms across her pitifully thin body and leaned to the side, "please…move."

"No."


	39. Chapter 39

**Illse'sPurpleSummer**: Yep and we do plan to answer them. **jadeMK11**: Oh yeah…though James is gonna have to find out she's alive before it's too late. He's off the deep end thinking she's dead. **Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

The term "uncomfortable silence" was taking on a whole new meaning at the moment. The seconds were ticking by and while Cooper was still blocking the doorway, he hadn't uttered a word since his last refusal. Taylor didn't know whether she was supposed to break the silence herself. If she was, she didn't know what the fuck to say. So silent she stayed and the quiet stretched from seconds to minutes. They both were avoiding eye contact with the other one although she could feel him staring at her a lot more than she was even daring to look at him. Finally it was just way too uncomfortable for her to just keep standing there like that. If he was just going to be a creeper and keep doing that she had to break the silence herself.

"Why can't I go in?"

Cooper blinked before letting out a long sigh. He hadn't actually thought his reasoning out about that. He could hardly even function right now. The instant he had learned the news about Mindy he had broke down completely. It honestly had felt like he would never stop crying. For the moment he had stopped because there just weren't anymore tears left but they would come again soon enough. He had retreated to his room initially, locking himself in there and just curling up into a ball as he cried. The pain inside of his chest had been absolutely horrendous. It felt like he had been ripped in two and just had dirt kicked on him for good measure. He wanted to just wake up and have this be a nightmare now. He couldn't fucking take this. He had lost Joie once upon a time and that had killed the boy he had been before and now he had lost Mindy. He didn't even feel like he was alive anymore. He was just existing and even that was painful. He wanted her back, NEEDED her back so badly that it was scary. He couldn't even fathom a life without her now. Even when he had been exiled out of the house and had been forced away from her it hadn't hurt this badly. That hadn't had the true finality that this did. She was dead. She was dead and wasn't coming back. Not ever.

"Cooper? Can you please say something?" Taylor was not in the mood to try to interpret why he was staring at her. She just did not have it in her to do so.

"I…I…do you want to talk?" He had seen her out there and he had found himself going out as well and just staring at her.

"…About what?"

Good question. He didn't know exactly where to start. He knew she needed comfort right now because she had loved Mindy too and had been forced to keep herself as together as possible for the girls and she needed someone to lean on. But he wasn't sure if he could handle a conversation relating to Mindy. But if not that, then what? The talk they needed to have about her being in love with him? Before the news about Mindy had reached them he had been preparing himself for it. He had been about as lost as he felt now about it. It was so tempting to keep avoiding the issue. He was good at that. But deep down-deep deep DEEP down-he knew that he couldn't just do that. Not this time anyway. He lived with her it was too awkward for this conversation to not be had. Also though, he did owe her a whole hell of a lot for taking care of him during his relapse into the world of drugs and self hatred. Most other people in her position would have tossed him out on his ass but not her. She took care of him and led to him living under the same roof Mindy did once more so he owed her. He owed her big time.

Taylor let out a long sigh and shifted around from foot to foot. "When is your uncle coming back?" she finally asked. She figured that since he wasn't rushing t say anything that she might as well figure out how much time she had left here.

Cooper just shook his head. "Julie tried to get a hold of him but Nattie-"

"Nattie?" She remembered that Connor had showed her a picture of her but she was confused as to what she had to do with this situation.

"Dad's goddaughter," Cooper clarified. "She went to visit him and ended up being there when he found out. According to her, he lost it and had to be sedated he was so hysterical."

Taylor had a hell of a hard time picturing that. "How long do you think I have once he does get back?"

Cooper blinked at the question. "Taylor come on, he's not going to-"

"He don't even like me!" Taylor pointed out. "And the girls aren't his so-"

"So what, you think he's just going to throw your asses out on the street?" He shook his head. "I don't know what he plans to do and I don't think he does either. If Nattie says he's a mess right now, he's a mess. She don't exaggerate shit like that."

"So what are you saying I do? Wait and see? I can't DO that Cooper! I have to figure out what to do I can't just-"

"You're NOT going anywhere so just chill. If he decides to be a dick and try to pull that move I'll…well I don't fucking know what I'll do yet exactly but I'll figure it out."

That declaration led to yet another awkward silence between them. He wasn't quite sure about how she felt but he knew that he couldn't just keep standing there. He couldn't stand being anywhere on this property really; everywhere he looked there were reminders of Mindy. It was driving him crazy and making it so he couldn't even breathe properly, let alone think the way he needed to think at the moment. Something had to be done to change that.

"Let's get out of here," he finally said.

Taylor blinked in surprise. "What?"

"You and me. Let's get out of here."

"And go where?"

"I don't know. I don't even care. We just need to get out of here for awhile."

"But the girls-"

"Julie will watch them."

"Connor-"

"He'll be good for Julie-if he even bothers coming out of his room." Connor had hidden himself away to escape the sheer misery that had taken over the house. "Come on, we need a break." She definitely needed one more than him and he couldn't stomach being alone at the moment. He had wanted it before and that mood would change again eventually but right now he just did not want to be alone.

"Okay…" Taylor was trying to keep a firm head on her shoulders about this because she knew how Cooper was but after they had told Julie that they needed to go for awhile she got the best of herself and she grabbed on to Cooper's hand and squeezed it tightly. He was taken by surprise by the gesture but he didn't pull his hand away-which made heart leap inside of her chest despite her best efforts to control it.

…

"Where is it?" James screamed at the top of his lungs. "Where is it where is it where is it?" He had all the contents of the latest package clutched tightly against his chest but he still didn't have her heart and it was making him go insane. He needed it why didn't anyone understand that? He needed it…he needed his Baby Doll…

"Mr. Lawson!" The doctors had gotten one round of sedatives in him but this time they weren't enough. He was too big, too worked up and now they couldn't get more into him because he was getting increasingly violent with anyone that came near him.

"Shut up!" He didn't want to hear a word any of these people had to say. He needed that heart. "Fucking give it back! That's Baby Doll's not yours! You can't have it!"

"Uncle James!" Nattie was keeping her distance, so freaked out that she didn't even know what to do. She still was holding Elizabeth tightly in her arms, who was bound and determined to get away from her and go to her daddy. Technically she was supposed to be on a flight to Albany at the moment but there was no way she could just leave. James was out of his mind and somebody needed to take care of Elizabeth. Her uncle Bret was talking to Vince for her sake so hopefully she wouldn't be in _too_ much trouble and Julie was supposed to be back here at some point tomorrow so she could take over Elizabeth duties while James stayed out of his mind and Nattie tried to make it to the next show in Buffalo.

"Da da da!" Elizabeth was tired, still sick and upset from all the shit that was going on around her. All she wanted was James, who was barely even looking her way. "DA DA DA DA!"

James looked down at his feet shamefully. He couldn't even bear to look at his own daughter. He promised her that he would bring her mother home. He fucking promised her and he had failed on an epic scale. Because of him his wife and unborn son were dead and now his daughter and all of his remaining step kids were going to have to grow up without a mother. He was sick. Sick with guilt, sick with grief, just fucking sick with it all.

One of the male nurses tried to take advantage of his stillness to jab him with another sedative but James, reacting purely on instinct at this point, elbowed him so hard his nose busted open on impact. Faceless people tried to get him now but he just bolted away as fast as he could, not able to stand being there for another second. He couldn't go out the front doors because there was just an army of paparazzi waiting for him to give some kind of statement regarding Mindy's death. And he couldn't do it. He couldn't fucking say anything to the fucking pigs. So out the back he went and he just ran as fast as he possibly could, his eyes nearly blinded by tears as he went.

…

"Damn it!" Nattie clutched Elizabeth more tightly to her chest and shook her head. She had followed James up to the back entrance but hadn't stepped outside yet. She had wanted to stop but she couldn't just take Elizabeth out yet. But she couldn't leave James to his own devices either. That would just end in badness. But who the hell was there to watch Elizabeth if she left? The hospital staff? She knew James would be furious if she left her alone with them.

"Nat?"

Her eyes widened as she whirled around and saw Steve there. "What-oh never mind." She handed Elizabeth off to him, who immediately started to cry because she didn't know him. "Take her and WATCH her! I have to go get James back."

"Wha-" Steve had just come to…well he wasn't quite sure what had possessed him to come here. Maybe it was his own guilt. He and Cooper hadn't watched Mindy properly but what had he been thinking by coming here? Apologizing wouldn't do shit. He had almost gotten killed at the other hospital and she had just been taken; now that she was dead there was no telling what James would do.

"Just WATCH her!" Nattie wasn't repeating herself again. She just bolted out the back door and looked around, hoping that she would see him right nearby. She didn't though and she felt herself start to panic. "Oh James…" She started walking, at first panicking because she didn't see him. But then she caught the very faint sight of him running around the corner and she started trying to call out for him. Before the words left her mouth though she caught site of a very familiar figure on a motorcycle following him and her heart sank somewhere down to her stomach. "Oh no NOT you NOT now…"

…

James ran until his legs gave out, making him collapse into a heap in a dirty empty alley. He had the package still clutched in his hands and even though he was in beyond any definition of agony, he found himself opening it again to stare at its contents. A piece of her scalp, her fingernails, the pictures of her body and of course her heart, which was being kept from him by a group of bastards who took it away when he had been knocked out…that was all that was left of his Baby Doll.

He sat back against the building behind him and pulled his knees up to his chest as he sobbed. His Baby Doll was gone and he just wanted to die. Never before in his entire life did he want to die as badly as he did now. Not even when Annabelle had died had he wanted to die this badly. Once upon a time he had thought that was the worst grief he had ever felt but this just flattened it. It flattened it by a fucking million miles.

He was sobbing too hard to hear the approaching footsteps; it wasn't until the person gingerly lowered themselves down next to him that he realized anyone was there. He looked over, his face completely blank when he saw that it was Mark there. He couldn't even speak a word to him. He just clenched his jaw tightly and stared at him, thinking back to the last time they had seen each other. He remembered telling Mark flat out that he hated him. Mark had fucked so much shit up between him and Mindy and couldn't just go away…fucker couldn't accept the fact that James didn't love him anymore. He couldn't accept the fact that James really did hate him now. Hate him for what he did to Mindy, to him, just for fucking everything.

"I'm sorry," Mark said with a heavy sigh. "I know you're not going to believe me but I am. I'm so fucking sorry."

He was right: James didn't believe him. How could he? Mark has a proven track record of lying to suit his own needs and besides from that, he knew how Mark felt about Mindy. He had made them perfectly clear when he had tried to frame her and Cooper for Glen's murder, which led to her being thrown in a nuthouse because it had backfired and James had gotten arrested for it. He had shown up at the hospital when James had gotten the shit kicked out of him just to cause problems…that was really when this whole mess started. If he hadn't shown up, James would have been sober and alert and with Mindy that next morning in the hospital with Amber, which would have saved Elizabeth from being kidnapped. And with Elizabeth not being kidnapped, he would have gone to Texas with Mindy for Amber's treatment and he wouldn't have let her out of his sight and she would still be alive.

"Lawson…" Mark sighed, really laying it on thick to try to come off as believable. He didn't realize just how much James wasn't buying it though. "I'm not going to pretend to even understand how you feel but you have GOT to pull yourself together. Your kids fucking need you." That was rich coming from him. "Wallowing in your misery won't bring her back." He started trying to get back up, wincing and struggling because his hips and knees were in such shit shape. "Come on. I'll take you back-"

"You don't get it," James said suddenly.

"I don't get what?" Mark asked, actually stopping mid-way up to look at James. "Lawson, what don't I get?" His voice got really sharp when James didn't answer him right away.

"…There's no Lawson…there's nothing…I'm dead." One of his hands grabbed his knife that the hospital hadn't known that he had hidden on him and he drove the blade deep into Mark's stomach. Mark's eyes widened and shock and James merely twisted it in deeper as his one time lover slid back down to the ground. "My body just isn't aware of it yet."


	40. Chapter 40

**Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: Hell, I wouldn't have even thought that would happen. He surprised us all with that. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: James has no intention of killing anyone he's gonna regret doing it to. He just wants to die himself. He thinks Mindy's gone and only thing he wants to do is join her.

…

"So uh…" dropping her eyes because she realized Cooper had taken out Mindy's favorite yellow Porsche Carrera named Bumblebee (or 'the Bee', as she often called it), Taylor waited for him to park the car near the barn where Mindy's beloved Cotton and Spade were being lunged by farmhands and just sat still in the car for a minute, "I can only imagine how much you miss her…"

Staring dead ahead with red clouded eyes Cooper could barely speak. Was he honestly ready for another romantic commitment? No. It wasn't fair to Taylor. He wasn't going to give her a shattered heart because he loved Mindy something scary. When you're truly in love with someone like that it becomes really hard to just move on and abandon them even if they're dead. It's just not something one really got into.

Heaving a sharp breath he ran a hand through his hair and didn't respond, staring out the windshield instead.

"She was…" gripping the wheel and nearly coughing more tears up he couldn't fathom any of this was real, "I…" shaking his head he held a closed hand over his mouth and sobbed into it for a good fifteen seconds before stopping himself dead and biting down to relieve pressure, "I can't tell you, you won't get it"

"You guys were like twins…" she nodded along and he wanted to die right there remembering that very thought running through his head upon first sight before he decided to fall totally and completely in love with her.

"She had this…" he was rambling, speaking with his hands which were shaking so erratically Taylor wanted to kiss them but instead kept her distance and nodded along, "presence…you know? It wasn't like anyone else I've ever met in my life she just…" shaking his head he sniffled and coughed, "she didn't even have to be in the room and you felt her"

"She was such an inspiration" Taylor nodded along thoughtfully, "I wanted to be her more than anyone else in the world…every girl I knew did. She was such a powerful young woman and she had an entire generation looking to her…everyone wanted to BE Mindy Stratus"

"She put on that rockstar front for everyone…" smiling softly Cooper nodded along before wanting to bite his hand again and cry, "but if you lived with her and got to know her you saw the other side…the real side"

"The MPD right?"

He nodded once, "No one had a face like her. No one had anything like her. She was just…" dropping his eyes and running a hand through his hair he shook his head, "She was just so fucking BEAUTIFUL…!" that turned into a sob, and all he could see was Mindy coming out with Cotton and Spade at her heels with absolutely no halters on of any kind. She was magic; she clicked and they followed she was magic. Nothing about her wasn't mythical she was so gorgeous.

"I don't think this is the best place to be…" Taylor, knowing better, shook her head and gunned the engine once more. It was bad enough that he was in Mindy's CAR; he didn't need to be in another place that she was. Clearly she was haunting him, clearly he was a young man in love. Beyond in love. Cooper's heart was stolen permanently and it didn't take an idiot to know that. Even outsiders suspected something going on between Cooper and Mindy. It wasn't a hard assumption to make. Clearly Cooper and Mindy crossed quite a few boundaries behind closed doors. Whatever those boundaries truly were no one would know for sure, and if things went their way no one would ever find out.

…

"'Julie can watch them', he says!" Amber sassed with a shake of the head and a sneer at the whole situation. Cooper decides he's moved on from her mother and would like to shack another girl so he leaves her with Julie after she loses her beloved mother and little brother. That's JUST how real families worked. It made her sick as she walked into her own bedroom and pulled Chelsea into her lap. She honestly didn't even know what to say anymore. Her mother was dead, her stepfather didn't give a shit, and neither did her stepbrothers clearly. Connor didn't even care that TRYG died why would he even react to Mindy's death. Everywhere she went but here Mindy held significance. James had his mind on his own kids and other things while Connor just didn't care. Cooper was already looking for more ass and she was stuck here all alone. No one took her back to the hospital because she didn't ask. She should have been in chemo parts of her hair were already falling out but no one took her back. She was just rotting and it was all okay.

Times like this made her miss her real father not because he was such a great guy, but he took CARE of his family. He used to be an alcoholic and even at his worst all he did was beat Mommy up, but bottom line he CARED. He pretended he didn't but Kane loved the shit out of them all. She couldn't imagine his post-mortem reaction to Tryg's accident—which never would have happened had he stayed with Mindy—and now this…if there was one thing about her father it was that he loved her mother in a way only he could make sense of…and it killed him. His utter obsession and devotion to her sick mother drove him mad. In his mind the only human being worthy of deserving any form of affection and love was her mother, and nothing catastrophic ever truly happened other than his two-year battle with heroin. That was pretty bad, but he sobered up. He got CLEAN for Mommy regardless. All in all he was a pretty sick guy who tortured innocent people and animals sometimes, but he was a good caretaker and father. If he weren't a woman beating monster he actually was a good guy…just ugly. An ugly woman-beating psycho. Either way it was possible that James knew she had knowledge of this situation with her father and maybe it was why he resented her and her sisters. He could pretend all day but James didn't remotely love them. Elizabeth could have a slight scrape as they were all hanging off a cliff and he'd let them go to ensure the 'baby' was already. Baby meant favorite. Elizabeth was the favorite. Even poor Chelsea, which always made Amber sick thinking about the things which could happen to her if the situation called.

Chelsea, like Mindy, was utterly obsessed with James and it was more than obvious everything was an act with him. He acted like he loved them and then he abandoned them where he saw appropriate. There was no real love on his part and even if there was he pretended so it was a lie. She and James' 'Lizzie Bear' always had contests for James' love, but the sweet irony was that he would sell Chelsea down the river for Elizabeth without a second thought.

Kissing the back of Chelsea's head Amber just sat on the couch with her and buried her face in her little sister's neck.

…

With her eyes flipped up to the ceiling as she lied on her back on the single king-sized bed of the hotel room, Taylor took a deep breath and just continued to listen to Cooper dish before giggling lightly and placing a hand over her mouth, which spiked his curiosity.

"What?"

"You remember…" she giggled and tried to blink her bleary blue eyes, "all those times you'd open a door or turn a bend and there Mom and Mr. Lawson would be all over each other?"

"Fuck, don't remind me" his eyes widened and he pinched the bridge of his nose, "That was so fucking annoying there was no part of the house you could fucking touch without disinfecting because they were so fucking gross."

"Oh please…" Taylor snorted, "it wasn't THAT bad! It was just so funny they acted like teenagers…he'd get all flushed and she would start giggling and hugging him and stuff…they were SO so so cute"

_Opening the door to the garage to find one of Mindy's Porsche's, Taylor found the car she was looking for but heavy breathing created a bit of a soundtrack. Smirking and lightly shaking her head Taylor followed the sound to see Mindy holding herself up on the passenger seat windows since it was a two-person car with James's head between her legs. _

_It was James' charcoal Lamborghini, the car which got more ass than a toilet seat. All the lights were out In the garage and though there were many doors to it to fit all of their cars and James' toy cars he had but didn't use often, his Lamborghini was the first choice for most sexual activity. _

_Turning her back and not wanting to interrupt, Taylor could hear Mindy's whimpers, sighs, and moans spiking as James licked her deeper and pushed his tongue inside to fuck her that way. His cock was hard as a rock and throbbing with every long stroke of his tongue. Her legs had been up over his shoulders and wrapped around his head as he licked her. She came three times already so his face was covered in her hot sticky juices but he wanted more. He wanted her wetness deeper and longer, unable to rip his mouth away from her pussy until she came again. _

_A few fingers of his rubbed her saturated clit which only made her moan louder at the way he opened up the oral sex by licking and sucking on her clit. _

"_Mmm James James…" moaning happily her fingers skimmed his hair as his tongue-fucking and clit-rubbing only got harder, "I love you, James!"_

_His thumb circled her clit harder and she moaned, twisting her torso and riding his mouth now as he spread her legs wider to get a deeper lick and that was it. His mouth and face was covered in her juices once again as he happily licked away to make her readier yet. His cock had been throbbing from how hard she sucked it earlier. Every second her mouth was around his cock he died a thousand deaths it felt so amazing and he came hard, but that didn't help his erection. Seconds after she finished swallowing his cum he nestled his head between her legs and ate her out until she couldn't take it. Now he was fingering her and admiring how shiny and slick his fingers were getting before rubbing his cock with them and fucking her hard. _

_Their sighs and screams were hard to make English out of but they were in the car another twenty minutes before coming out all lovey and kissy, only to see the garage door was open and Taylor was awkwardly waiting to start Bumblebee, making Mindy clap a hand over her mouth and gasp as Taylor turned the lights on with a shake of her head at the couple before leaving. She was an ex-prostitute she saw that type of shit all the time. _

_James wasn't at all fazed; in fact he waited for the door to close once more before impaling Mindy on his cock and fucking her against another car. _

"Please" Cooper snorted, "You think THAT was a bad instance? I've had the motherload. They've fucked right in front of me-"

"If there's ONE THING Mr. Lawson really loved it was her" Taylor's face fell and she nodded, "I thought they were really sweet"

"Clearly you never saw them at night"

"Meaning?"

"Mommy couldn't do jack shit" he said from pacing in front of the bed, "Without fucking Dad up her ass"

"Whatever it is" Taylor's eyes widened and she giggled, "They clearly had great sex"

"I think Dad got lost in the fact that he was dating a twenty-eight-year-old and assumed he could be that age again too."

_Mindy leaned over the kitchen counter cooking dinner when two long hands roamed all over her body starting at the hips and a mouth pressed against her ear. _

"_Hi, Baby Doll…" was the coo which made her come undone, craning her neck to kiss him when her dress was lifted slightly in the back so a hard bulge could press against her wet pussy barely covered by a string-thong and she moaned. _

"_Mmm Jamie" craning her neck they kissed as he pulled her breasts out of the dress and kneaded them while lightly grinding his hard groin into hers. _

"_Are you wet for me, Baby Doll?" no one was around so he reached around the front to spread her legs wider and lightly rub the hot wet core before fingering her. _

"_Oh fuck Jamie!" happily she rode his fingers when he kissed her neck and lightly sucked on it._

"_Are you ready for my cock, Baby Doll? Do you want me to fuck you until you scream?"_

_With a pant and a nervous plea she nodded, whimpering as his jeans unbuttoned and his hard cock sprang free, already searching for an opening when he slipped it into her hot wet pussy and pounded away. _

"_Fucking tight Baby Doll…" moaning happily he kissed her lips and increased speed to the point that she bent over the counter and let him hold her hips while fucking her hard. Her back arched and he just kept slamming, rubbing her clit as he did so. "Oh Baby Doll, fuck…" kissing her happily he thrust even harder when they heard noises._

"_Oh fuck James" shaking her head and standing back up, Mindy pretended to keep cooking and James didn't remove his cock from inside her. Instead he stood and moved his hips so slowly it didn't look like it was moving at all, but he was. She was happy he was. `_

"_Fucking serious, Dad?" Cooper moaned with a shake of the head before turning around to leave, a devilish grin spreading across James's face before he leaned in and kissed Mindy harder before resuming._

"They were fucking gross"

"I think you were fucking jealous" Taylor shrugged as he sat next to her on the bed and nestled under his shoulder. "They're in love"

"Please" he rolled his eyes, "Dad doesn't know what love is"

"Cooper" shaking her head she leaned up and kissed him quickly, "yes he does."

…

"Ssssshhh Lizzie Bear…" shaking her head Natalya bounced the disgruntled baby in her arms when there was a knock on the door and in came a doctor with a clipboard, "Are you in any way able to contact Mr. Lawson?"

"I…" running a hand through her hair she shrugged, "I can try?"

"It's imperative that you reach him. The heart he received was covered in her blood…but the organ itself belonged to a pig. They have the same anatomy we do which makes it difficult to decipher the difference but that was only her blood"

"Oh dear god…"


	41. Chapter 41

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: That'll be easier said than done. He's gotten a big head start and don't want to be found. **Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you! **jademk11: **The location actually will be revealed soon…question is, will it be in time before anything else happens.

…

"James please!" Natalya pleaded as she once again got his voicemail. She had been trying to call him nonstop ever since the doctor told her the truth about the heart. Unfortunately, she wasn't getting any kind of answer from him at all. It was scaring the hell out of her that she wasn't getting any answer out of him. She had no idea where he was or what he was doing. She knew Mark had been lurking around and she was hoping to god that he hadn't caught up with James, or if he had James hadn't turned back to him in his grief. That unhealthy pattern with Mark had finally been broken with Mindy and if he went back to him now, that would be out. James wouldn't ever break free again. "Please come back the heart wasn't hers! It was a pig's heart!" She shook her head and adjusted Elizabeth in her arms. "It was a pig's heart damn it! Now please come back here!"

"Da da da!" Elizabeth said crankily as Natalya hung up the phone once again. Nattie had tried to soothe her in every way she could but Elizabeth wasn't having it. She wanted her father and didn't understand or accept that he wasn't there.

"I'm trying to get him back Lizzie Bear," Nattie assured her. "I am. I'm calling him and I sent Steve out looking for him." Austin new this city better than she did anyway so she was hoping maybe he could track James down. She didn't even want to imagine what James was going to do. He was still convinced that the heart he had gotten was hers and the other package of stuff he got just further proved to him that she was dead. With the news of only the blood on the heart being hers and not the heart itself, Natalya really didn't know what to think was the truth about Mindy's death. It was still very possible that she was dead but if she was really dead, why send a pig heart? Why not send her actual heart? Did the guy want to crush James's spirit then give him hope only to take it away again? Or was this just one big game and Mindy was still alive somewhere? It hurt her head to just try to wrap her head around all of this. The only thing she knew for certain that this guy was going to die a very painful and agonizing death once James got a hold of him. Even if Mindy still was alive and James got her back wouldn't save him. He was going to die a horrible horrible death and in her opinion, it couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

…

James listlessly opened the manhole cover and pushed Mark's body down into it, not really realizing that he was doing it. His actions now were done out of instinct. He had dumped plenty of bodies down sewers before because it was easier than taking them out to the desert and burning them. And like all of them, he felt nothing as he dumped Mark down there. Absolutely nothing. Once upon a time he had loved Mark but that had went away a long time ago so he didn't feel an ounce of regret over what he did. In fact, he was more mad at himself for not doing it sooner. He should have done it sooner Mark had hurt his Baby Doll how could he not do it sooner? Another check mark in the "James fails" section.

Once Mark's body was disposed of he wandered away from the scene, absently wiping the blood off the blade and just staring at it as he went. Just holding it was a huge, painful reminder of Mindy but he couldn't look away from it. She had given him this knife and he treasured it, along with everything else she had ever given him. She could have handed him a dead rodent and he would have thought it was the greatest thing ever.

His eyes started tearing up once again and he made no move to stop them. He just kept walking, not paying attention to where he was going and not even seeing it that well because he was too busy crying once again. It hurt to even still be breathing. When he said that he was dead already he had meant it. Maybe he was still alive physically but on the inside he was gone and he didn't have it in him to even think about trying to pull himself back together. Was that selfish of him? Yeah but he couldn't help it. He was utterly dependent on Mindy. The sun rose and set on her. He lived to please her. He loved her in ways he couldn't describe and he couldn't accept her being gone. She was the love of his life and she had not only been taken from him, but she had died because of him. He had wronged that sick fuck that took her somehow and she and Aiden had died because of it.

He dropped down right where he was at and buried his face in his hands. It was dark out and he was in a park, sitting right amongst all the children's playground equipment. He didn't know what he had done to start all of this. He didn't recognize the guy at all. He had racked his brain over and over again searching for answers but none had come to him. That wasn't exactly a surprise though. He had done things to a lot of different people over his lifetime so it could really be for any number of reasons. In the end though, the exact reason didn't truly matter. What mattered was that he had gotten his wife and unborn son killed and with Mindy's death the rest of the family would suffer.

He looked up at the sky, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand so he could see the stars. Even looking at them was more than he could handle. He remembered what he promised her. He promised her when they died they would be stars together. They would share the same casket and they would go up and be stars together because death couldn't separate them.

_"JAMIE!" Mindy laughed loudly as they kissed more and gently he swam with her on him to the edge, where he worked on kissing her breasts more before holding her hand and allowing her to pull his navy blue swim trunks off._

_"See now…" he snickered upon kissing down her throat and preparing to make love to her, "I would make a comment regarding you being so perfectly wet for me…"_

_"I am" she inhaled sharply as he entered her, moaning and digging her nails into his back, "and I love you"_

_"I love YOU" he continued to kiss her before resting his face on her shoulder as his hips did all the work, "Look at that sky, Baby Doll…" he kept his eyes up while holding her more passionately, "its so beautiful, isn't it?"_

_"I think so too" she nodded while kissing his neck and grinding herself into him even harder, "I could stay here forever, Jamie…"_

_"Me too" he nodded and they kissed, "Nights like this I remember why I married you"_

_"I'm easy?" she giggled teasingly when he kissed her throat and shook his head, slowing down his pace to feel the change in her moaning._

_"No" he denied quickly and shook his head, "Because we can do this forever and not be lame."_

_"I love stars…" she nodded with a sigh before kissing his fingers, "When we die, will we be stars too?"_

_He choked a moment before coiling his arms around her twice as tight and shivering, speaking into her shoulder trembling from a nameless fear, "Baby, we'll be whatever you want…" he squeezed his eyes shut to keep any tears back but the way he was buried in her shoulder she could feel his lips trembling, "Whatever you want to be, I'll be with you…and no one will take me away."_

The knife was back out of his pocket and he held it tightly, just staring at it wordlessly. He knew what he had to do and he was just going to do it now. A gun would be quicker but he didn't have one with him and he didn't feel like wasting the time to go and get one. And doing the wrists wasn't an option. He couldn't slit one because of his Miranda tattoo and trying to make himself bleed to death via one wrist was far from fool proof. No, there was only one way and he was doing it now.

He tightened his grip on the knife's handle and readied it, taking a couple deep breaths and trying to focus on getting his aim right. He tapped his stomach a couple of times with the blade and then moved it as far back as he could and gripped it with both hands, so he could get as much impact as he could with this. He took one last deep breath and looked up at the stars. "I love you Baby Doll…"

"LAWSON!"

The low, raspy, gravelly voice that yelled his name didn't change the fact that he drove his own knife into his body, but is surprised him enough that it made him miss the exact spot where he was aiming, which would have resulted in him getting his major internal organs. He groaned loudly, his own blood spilling all over his hands as he looked back to see who it was that yelled his name. He had recognized that voice instantly but he hadn't believed it to be true until he turned around and saw the person for himself. He blinked several times, having trouble processing it because of pain and disbelief. "…Pillman?" He saw Brian's lips start to move but he didn't hear what he said. He just slumped back to the ground and quietly blacked out from the pain he was in.

"_Lawwwwwwsssssoooonnnn. Oh Lawwwwwssssoonnn…"_

"_Mmmm fuck off Pillman," James said as he raised his hand to swat Brian's hand away from his face. He and Brian Pillman were in the backseat while Steve drove and Davey Boy Smith was up in in the passenger's seat. James had come out on the road to try to spend time with Mark but that had gone to hell because of a fight two days ago and since then, instead of going back home like Mark told him to, he just switched to hanging out with Brian. Ever since they had met each other they had been joined at the hip and they had become a duo that was feared by the majority of the locker room. James was obnoxious and wild by nature in the backstage environment and Brian fed into it because he got a huge kick out of James. In a relatively short time, whether he realized it or not, he had become a sort of older brother figure to James. If he said to do something James more often than not did it without any kind of hesitation._

"_You know you can't sleep in a car full of wrestlers Lawson." Brian was poking James's face over and over again because he knew it was irritating him. "We've been over this several times already._

"_But I'm not a wrestler!" James whined. "And I'm ti-OW!" _

"_Oh now stop that," Brian said with a roll of his eyes. "It was a rolled up magazine it didn't hurt that much."_

"_Ughhh…" James reluctantly opened his eyes and glared at him. Brian didn't even flinch. He just grabbed a bag of chips Davey had bought at the last gas station they went to and handed them to him. _

"_Eat this."_

_James pouted. "Just these?"_

_A Mountain Dew and a sandwich were given to him next._

"_My hero." James dug right in and Davey smirked and looked back at them. _

"_Aww Pillman, you taking care of your boy?"_

"_I just don't want to hear him bitch for the next hundred miles about how he's hungry," Brian told him. "Believe me, I've endured it. It's not pleasant."_

_James would have objected to that if not for the fact he was completely wrapped up in his turkey sandwich. So he settled for pouting and chewing his food obnoxiously as possible, which made Brian roll his eyes and smack him once again with the rolled up newspaper._

"_Brat."_

"_Meanie."_

"Hey! HEY! Wake the fuck back up!"

James opened his eyes after a hard smack to his face. The knife was out of his stomach and hidden back in his pocket and Brian was putting pressure on his wound to try to stop the bleeding. "You're a fucking idiot you know that?" Pillman asked irritably. "If you wouldn't go crazy and do more damage to yourself I would have thrown that knife away."

James immediately panicked and shook his head. "Don't…" He looked down at Brian's hands and shook his head. "Don't…I wanna die don't…"

What he got for that was another slap across the face. "Don't even fucking talk like that you moron," Brian snapped. "That's fucking bullshit don't do it." He put more pressure on the wound, slapping James yet again when he tried to get away. "THIS is why I'm the one that came down to stop your stupid ass. Don't you know suicide isn't the answer?"

James winced and his hands reached for his knife again, which earned him another slap. He barely even felt it though. He just tried yet again and he got slapped harder.

"STOP that you fucking lug." Brian wasn't really wasting time by being nice. It wouldn't do any good with how determined James was to go through with this suicide thing. "You can NOT do this shit."

"Have to…" It was hard for James to speak. He was in a tremendous amount of pain and was just ready to die already. "I can't…"

"You're killing yourself over someone who's not dead yet?"

James's eyes narrowed in confusion. "WHAT are you talking about?"

Brian knew that James might not believe him so he took James's phone out of his pocket and started playing one of the many voicemails that had been left for him. "Listen and learn buddy." He had much much less time than Annabelle and Joie had when they came down there so he couldn't waste time arguing with James. He was just going to try to pull the big dog out of his utter grief and helplessness and make him move his ass.

"James!" Natalya's voice was coming from the phone and James stared at it blankly. "James you gotta come back. The doctor said it's not Mindy's heart! It's got her blood on it but it's a pig's heart-" There was more but James didn't hear it. He just stared at the phone in disbelief and then at Brian, who was shaking his head.

"Don't believe everything you get in the mail," Brian advised. "That mother fucker is playing you like a fiddle." The sirens were getting closer now and he quickly placed a hard kiss to James's forehead before whispering into his ear.

"She's closer than you think."

It was at that point James passed out without realizing it because when he woke up he was back in the hospital, Brian was long gone and Natalya and Elizabeth were both right at his bedside.


	42. Chapter 42

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: At least someone did it. Now James just has to find her. **jadeMK11: **Oh yeah, seriously. A huge thank you is in order. **Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

Physically crawling out of the closet she was being kept prisoner in, a barely-there completely naked and disease-ridden Mindy coughed and winced at the first sunlight she'd seen in days. Her entire body was covered in severe cuts, rashes, and bruises while a baby bump protruded from her lower abdomen, and that was about the only bump on her body outside her fake silicone breast implants. Aiden had been eating her from the inside out and she was dying to keep him alive. A large piece of her scalp was ripped off and highly infected while her hails had been completely torn off in some areas to be sent to James.

"Come on, pretty little showhorse, that's it!" he encouraged as she crawled out on all fours like a horse, gagging and nearly throwing up from the air before looking up his way to make out about three of him.

She knew there was only one, but dehydration and hunger pains were making her sick as well as blood loss. She had been hallucinating left and right, seeing James here and there, imagining that he was coming for her….but then she remembered. He wasn't coming for her. He would never come for her. This fucker had already told her James had given up the search and had called things back on with Mark. There never was a Baby Doll in his life that mattered, he truly didn't need her at all. He needed SOMEONE, and clearly that someone wasn't her.

What made her the most upset was the fact that he had the gall to marry her and have children with her. She was the mother of his children and he gave up so fast her head spun. It goes to show never to trust a serial killer or a Lawson for that matter, but she was a Lawson now so she couldn't say that. She was a Lawson until her impending death which couldn't come for her soon enough.

She had so many infections and growing diseases on her tiny body including whooping cough that she had about a week left to live if untreated. This son of a bitch was literally feeding her nothing and she didn't care for herself, she cared for the baby. James's baby was in grave danger and any piece of him had to be salvaged anyway possible. He could do whatever he wanted with her but she promised him a boy and he impregnated her with one, so now it was her solemn duty as his wife to give birth to a healthy non-ailing baby.

She was kicked hard again.

"What's the matter, pretty little showhorse?" he frowned and leaned in her direction, "Why the long face?"

He laughed even though she didn't find it so funny. If anything she had a fat round face, not a long oval horse face.

"Awww not much of a talker today, are we?" he chuckled before leaning in to pet her hair, but run right on top of the gaping hole in her head and laughing at the way she screamed. She fell onto her side and shrieked from agony but he never saw something so funny. "What's the matter, showhorse?" he roughly lifted her chin and she whimpered from agony, "Not really showing our teeth today, now are we?" tasking her he shook his head, "Would you like me to MAKE you show me some teeth? Because I know how much you like teeth on that tight little perfect pussy you have, yes I do…

"NO!" shrieking she flopped onto her back as he flipped her onto her back and held her legs down despite the struggles.

"No?" he snorted, "No? Last I knew" he punched her in the mouth and checked to make sure all three of her false teeth were kicked out still, "Pretty little showhorses don't talk!"

Pulling her over by her leg he reached a grimy hand between her legs and rubbed hard. She cried, screamed, and wasn't the slightest bit wet which he didn't like either.

"Hey!" he slapped her hard across the face, "Showhorse! You fucking get wet for me when I'm all hard and ready for you, got it?" she was dry as a bone and he was hard as a rock, "Otherwise we're gonna have to do this the hard way."

Same reaction from her.

"Hey!" smacking her in the face he shoved three fingers in her and she screamed from agony, twisting her torso to rail against what he was going when he licked her neck and started squeezing her fake breasts before sucking and licking on the nipples, "Get that pussy fucking wet and ready for me, you understand?"

She shook her head, getting slapped again so he rubbed her clit hard and spread her legs all the way.

"Pretend it's JAMIE! I'm your JAMIE, pretty little showhorse! I'm JAMIE with my big hard porn-producing cock and I want inside your tight little…" a dab of moisture hit him just as a reflex from saying James's name and that made him bend down to lap between her legs and she dipped her head back to the ceiling. She twisted, turned, contorted, and screamed as his lapping turned into biting and he was ripping…ripping and tearing at her clit.

"NO!" shrieking she kicked him in the head even though she was bleeding profusely between her legs most likely needing stitches.

"BITCH!" shaking his head he went to grab her and slammed her to her back, driving his hard, yet short and fat cock inside her and she screamed.

"FUCKING CHODE GET OUT!"

"OH! I'M sorry, pretty little showhorse!" he whacked her hard across the face, "Sorry I'm not your big hard Jamie with a cock the size of my arm! You like em big…" his round little body was covered in sweat and he didn't wear any kind of deodorant, "I know how big you like 'em…Jamie fucks you so good he spoiled you…" shaking his head he tapped her nose and she whimpered, "he shouldn't have done that…pretty little pussies like yours need a real man's cock to play with it…"

Shaking her head and biting her lip Mindy kicked him even harder and scrambled to her feet, limping down the hallway and grabbing an umbrella to beat him with before hiding behind a doorway in the kitchen.

"BITCH! LITTLE FUCKING BITCH!" tearing after her he ran into the kitchen to be whacked in the face with the umbrella and out she went. Tearing through the hallways she headed for the back door and out she went the second time.

First runaway attempt left Elizabeth for dead and all she wanted was to get to a hospital for Aiden. Aiden was killing her she actually had to hold her stomach as she ran because Aiden was giving her so much pain. He was just a little baby he had no idea what Mommy was going through to try and save him. If it were just her in there she wouldn't have just let him kill her but this was Aiden. This was Jamie's baby. Nothing was allowed to happen to Jamie's baby, and she kept telling herself that.

Panting she could hear him trailing behind her, and she held onto the frames of the nearby houses to push from house to house, knowing no one would help her so she had to fine a phone herself.

It was hot, and her limbs were so destroyed she was stopping to cough up blood and stagger before running once more. She had to get to a phone or SOMETHING. The sand burned her feet as she ran, the sun scorching it making life twice as bad but she couldn't stop…not for anything. This was everything. Everything was on the line it was all here, she had the place, the address, the everything was hers and now she needed to make the call. One fucking phone call and the ambulance would come and get her with police cars and everything would be okay for Aiden. At this rate she figured there was no hope for her but Aiden? They could save him. They could harvest some of her organs to save the baby.

In the distance she picked up a payphone, but she didn't have money on her. She didn't have any fucking money on her—BUT she watched Cooper show her how to cheat a payphone so hopefully it would work. The thing looked old fashioned enough anyway. Rushing forwards and speeding to a stop right in front of the payphone, Mindy panted and gulped while closing herself in the booth as if it would actually do anything in this dingy one-horse town for her. Slamming her finger down on the change return button she growled and smacked the glass walls as hard as she could with barred teeth.

"Come on come on come on come on come the FUCK ON!" she shrieked and slammed her palm more until she got a dial tone, which resulted in her jumping a foot in the air from shock and she squealed before going to dial the ambulance. The first number which popped in her head she pressed and it seemed like many more digits than 9-11.

It was ringing, which she didn't like. It rang right through. It rang right through to voicemail.

"HI!" her own voice, "My Jamie cannot come to the phone right now because he is off playing with ME…so if you think he will actually pay you a dime of attention leave your shit and maybe if he comes up for air he will call you. PEACE!"

Her voicemail she recorded on James's phone. She had called him on reflex and of course he ignored the call…but blubbering from tears she began to shakily deliver the message anyway.

"JAMIE! Jamie Jamie Jamie Jamie DARLING Jamie I love you!" coughing she checked all around her before screaming, "274 MASON TRAIL! 274 MASON TRAIL HOUSTON TEXAS! FUCKING UGLY YELLOW HOUSE I AM IN THE CLOSET ME AND AIDEN ARE IN THE FUCKING" she stopped to gag and hold her throat before speaking more, "I…we are in the closet I know you do not care I KNOW that but AIDEN Jamie think of AIDEN please! I know you gaved up I KNOW that but at least cut Aiden out PLEASE Jamie I love you don't kill Aiden PLEASE do not kill Aiden he is our special…" she gagged, "special boy…I know how you are back with Mark and do not care but I love you James…I will always love you more than life and I…"

She didn't see the way he was right behind the phone booth and drove an axe into it before shattering glass and making her scream at the top of her lungs.

"YOU shouldn't have done that, pretty little showhorse" shaking his head he dragged her off by the roots of her hair and she tried to get away but it was no use. He would never let her get away ever again. He didn't even bother to place the dangling phone back on the hook as he went away with her, throwing her back into the house and literally kicking her into the closet.


	43. Chapter 43

**Illse'sPurpleSummer**: I know. Things are NOT looking great for her now. James needs to check his messages ASAP…even though, at this point, it's possibly too late. **jadeMK11**: We'll see if anyone did right here in this chapter. **Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

"What the HELL were you thinking?" Natalya asked James angrily, who had Elizabeth laying on his chest while he petted her hair and tried to sit up. He had a whole bunch of stitches in his side and not only did it hurt like a mother fucker to try to do, but it served to make Natalya even more angry. "Don't DO that! You wanna rip your stitches out?"

"I-"

Nattie wasn't even giving him time to say anything. She was on quite the roll. "That was so unbelievably selfish…what were the kids going to do without you James? Huh? Did you even think about them before you did it?" She waited until he started to shake his head. "Yeah, CLEARLY not!" She would have smacked him if he hadn't had Elizabeth in his arms.

James was trying to tune her out. He HATED being lectured and after what Brian said about Mindy, finding out the heart wasn't hers and the tremendous amount of pain he was in, he was really a hundred times less in the mood that he would have been for it otherwise. _"She's closer than you think."_ While he didn't directly say it, Brian's statement indicated that she was alive. But for how much longer? And where the hell was she? Why couldn't he have just told him? Did he not know? Or was he just being cryptic on purpose? The questions were repeating themselves over and over again and it was making his head hurt.

"James!" Natalya tried to push James back down on to the bed. "You CAN'T do that your stitches-"

"FUCK the stupid stitches," James growled. He braced himself against the bed with one hand and used the other to tightly hold Elizabeth as he swung his legs over and sat fully up. He couldn't stop the grunt of pain that escaped him and Elizabeth looked at him and gave him a confused look.

"Da da?" She placed both of her hands on his cheeks and he quickly gave her a little kiss.

"It's okay Lizzie Bear. Daddy's fine."

"Fine my ass," Natalya muttered. She was trying to force herself to simmer back down so she wouldn't scare Elizabeth but she was finding that to be hard as hell to actually do. "You STABBED yourself-"

"But I'm not DEAD like I intended to be," James said harshly. "Brian took care of that."

"Brian?"

"Yeah. You know, Pillman?"

She slowly shook her head. "What is it with you guys and people coming back to visit you from the dead?"

James shrugged. That was a good question but it wasn't anything he could even begin to answer. "Fuck if I know. But if Mark comes back from beyond I'll be pissed."

"Ye-wait WHAT?" Nattie's voice spiked so loudly that Elizabeth began to fuss because it startled her but she was too shocked to really feel bad about it. "WHAT did you do?"

"I killed Mark," James clarified for her. He pushed himself up to his feet and adjusted Elizabeth in his arms while looking down in disgust at the hospital gown he had been put into while he had been unconscious. How they found one remotely big enough for him he didn't know and he was not happy at all that they had done it. He hated these stupid things. "He tried to "talk" to me and I didn't want to hear it so I stabbed him and dumped him in the sewer. Now hand me my pants."

Natalya blinked, still trying to process the news of Mark's death.

"Nattie! Pants! Now!"

"James-"

"Fine! I'LL get my pants." James walked over to where his jeans were sitting all folded up. His shirt was missing, which meant it was either being washed or it had been thrown out because of all the blood he had gotten on it. "My knife-"

"Is safe," she told him. She wasn't about to tell him where it was though. Not after the stunt he just pulled.

He grunted at that and grabbed his jeans, quickly realizing the problem with his current situation. "Lizzie, Daddy can't put his jeans on with one hand-"

Elizabeth seemed to suddenly understand that that meant he was going to have to put her down and she violently began to protest that. "No no no!" She clung to him more tightly and shook her head. "No no no Da Da! No no!"

James sighed and shook off Nattie's attempt to take Elizabeth anyway, instead forcing himself to get into his own jeans while only using one hand to help himself. His phone fell out of his pocket and landed on his foot, which did save it from hitting the floor and possibly breaking it. "Did you pull your stitches?" Nattie asked, trying to check them out as she asked.

"Bah humbug," he grumbled at her. His side was hurting horribly and he tried to just bend down and get his phone but she quickly did it for him.

"Here damn it. Quit being too proud to ask for help." She handed him his phone and he grumbled some sort of thanks to her. _Men…_

James flipped open his phone out of habit and saw that he had a new message on his voicemail. He checked that out of habit too and just about dropped the phone and Elizabeth when he heard the voice screaming on the other end.

"JAMIE! Jamie Jamie Jamie Jamie DARLING Jamie I love you!" There was a pause as Mindy coughed. "274 MASON TRAIL! 274 MASON TRAIL HOUSTON TEXAS! FUCKING UGLY YELLOW HOUSE I AM IN THE CLOSET ME AND AIDEN ARE IN THE FUCKING" she stopped and James could hear her gagging "I…we are in the closet I know you do not care I KNOW that but AIDEN Jamie think of AIDEN please! I know you gaved up I KNOW that but at least cut Aiden out PLEASE Jamie I love you don't kill Aiden PLEASE do not kill Aiden he is our special…" more gagging "special boy…I know how you are back with Mark and do not care but I love you James…I will always love you more than life and I…" There was a loud crash as glass broke and Mindy screamed and James and Elizabeth both screamed with her and Natalya put her hand over her mouth in shock.

"Oh my GOD!"

"MA MA MA!" Elizabeth snagged the phone out of James's hand and started trying to talk to Mindy through it. "MA MA MA!"

James couldn't even speak. He handed Elizabeth back to Natalya and started moving. He didn't have his shoes, his knife and his hospital gown was officially his shirt but he did not give a flying fuck. "WATCH HER!"

"Keys!" Nattie tossed him her keys without hesitation. "Take my car go go go!"

James caught them with one hand and was out of the room before Elizabeth even knew he was gone. Several of the hospital staff tried to stop him but he shoved them out of the way violently. He couldn't even feel the pain from his stab wound anymore. His Baby Doll had called him, she had been alive…but she had been found calling him and he couldn't even imagine what had happened to her since then. He was moving so fast, past the doctors and nurses, pass the paparazzi-if anyone tried to seriously stop him they were going to die. He would snap their necks and just be done with it. He was getting to Mindy and that was that.

…

"MA MA!" Elizabeth had the phone up to her mouth and was trying as hard as he could to talk to Mindy through the phone. "Ma Ma?" She put the phone up to her ear and waited, fussing when Mindy wasn't there to say anything back to her. "MA MA!"

"Lizzie honey, that was a message," Natalya explained yet again as she gently took the phone out of the baby's hands. "She's not actually on the phone right now."

Elizabeth fussed and balled her hands up into fists. "My Ma Ma!"

"Daddy's going to her," Nattie said, gently kissing her cheek. "Daddy's going to get her back and then you'll get to see her."

"Da Da Da," Elizabeth cooed. "My Da Da."

Nattie nodded and hugged her tighter. "Your daddy is going to get the bad man and make him pay. People can't fuck with you Lawsons and get away with it."

"My Da Da." Elizabeth wasn't even listening to her. She was just babbling on and looking at the phone in case one of her parents called again. "My Da Da my Ma Ma…"

…

James had his foot firmly on the gas pedal as he headed to the address Mindy had given him. He was weaving Natalya's car around traffic when he needed to, pissing off all the motorists he encountered. His level of giving a shit was at an all time low though. He was too focused on getting there. His hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles had turned white. He couldn't feel how much his fingers hurt from his grip on the wheel and he couldn't feel the throbbing in his side or the pounding of his heart. Everything that had happened was just replaying itself over and over again. When Elizabeth had been taken it had been a nightmare that he thought couldn't get any worse but it had. It had gotten so fucking bad that it was just beyond the telling of it. His Baby Doll had been taken from him and tortured and he had been made to watch then the fucker made her believe he had given up and moved on back to Mark…

His grip on the wheel intensified tenfold. Mindy didn't know Mark was dead. In her eyes, he was back with Mark and forgetting all about her, which was so far from the truth they might as well have been on different planets. She had called him begging him to save Aiden…then the scream…the man had found her making the call, there was no doubt about that. Now who the hell knew what had happened to her since then. He was forcing himself not to imagine it. He had to stay focus on getting there and trying to control the rage inside of him. His entire body was trembling from it and he needed the kill so badly he could taste it.

Since this started he often imagined a slow, truly agonizing death for the man that had ripped his family apart. He wanted to hurt him a thousand times worse than he had hurt them but now that he was so close to the house the rage was getting the best of him and he just wanted him dead. He wanted to just annihilate him on sight and just get it over with so he could get Mindy and Aiden and just make it all stop. He-

-forced himself right through the front door, blinking and quickly looking back, trying to remember when he actually got there. His mind was a total blank. He must have blacked out a bit. That hadn't happened in forever. In fact, the days he killed his parents were the only two times it had ever actually happened. With Joseph he attributed it to rage overload and Caroline…well that day had just been so fucked up blacking out for awhile had been a mercy.

Closet…Mindy said she and Aiden were being kept in a closet. He took a couple steps forward, fully preparing to throw open every and any door in his path. But then he heard Mindy scream in pain and that was it. Whatever thread of sanity he had been hanging on to left him and there was only fear for her safety and pure, undiluted rage.

"You think you were being cute showhorse?" The man had one hand in Mindy's hair, digging his fingers against where he cut her scalp off and making her shriek in pain as his other hand hit her over and over again. "Huh? DID YOU FUCKING THINK YOU WERE CUTE?" He hit her harder, not even realizing that the closet door was opening. "What part of Jamie don't love you anymore don't you-"

"WRONG!" James didn't even know he yelled. He didn't really know anything of what he was doing at the moment. He was just acting, grabbing the short man by the back of the neck and slamming him back against the wall as hard as he could. The man's eyes widened in surprise but that was only able to last for a few seconds. James's large heavy fists were hitting him everywhere and when he fell to the ground James started kicking him instead.

"YOU THINK YOU'RE SMART? YOU THINK YOU WERE CUTE? FUCKING WITH MY FAMILY? HURTING MY FAMILY?" James's kicks were going everywhere, cracking ribs and breaking facial bones in quick succession. "DO YOU WANT TO PLAY MY GAME BITCH?" He started kicking and stomping on the man's groin with as much force as he could. "NEIGH FOR ME YOU FUCKING PIG! FUCKING NEIGH YOU STUPID FUCKING BASTARD!"

The man made some sort of sound but James couldn't even tell if it was a "neigh" It definitely wasn't enough to appease him, that much was for certain. He grabbed the man by the hair and drove his knee into his face. "SHOW ME YOUR TEETH! COME ON! YOU LIKE TEETH SO MUCH SHOW ME YOURS!" He hit the man over and over again until saw several of the teeth on the floor. The outline of something in his pants pockets caught James's attention and he pulled it out, his rage exploding even more when it turned out to be a knife. "AND WHAT WERE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THIS? HUH? CAN YOU TELL ME YOU STUPID FUCK?"

Down the blade of the knife went into the man's groin and the scream of pain that came out of his mouth had to be heard to believe. James yanked the knife back out only to drive it back in over and over and over again. The man's groin became a mutilated mess and eventually James started just stabbing him everywhere he could, not stopping until the muscles in his arm literally felt like he was on fire. He panted wildly for breath, the rage made fog in his mind lifting up so he could comprehend the damage he had done. He was just covered in the other man's blood and the body was so badly mutilated it wasn't even recognizable. The man's head was not attached to the rest of his body because James stabbed away his neck, his eyes were missing, his entire torso had been ripped open and his insides were now decorating the floor…as far as sheer brutality and gore went, this was about as brutal as James had ever been.

The sound of Mindy coughing and gagging made him turn to face and he just about had a heart attack on the spot. "Baby Doll!" Off went the hospital gown and he threw it over her so her ravaged naked body would have something covering it. He was bawling at the sight of her and while he could feel her trembling as he scooped her into his arms so he could get her out of there, he didn't know it was because her eyes were fixed on his ugly, self inflicted stab wound that was bleeding quite badly because he completely ripped out his own stitches without even realizing it.


	44. Chapter 44

**jadeMK11**: Indeed. And at this rate, with everything that's happened, that seems like a tall order. **Illse'sPurpleSummer**: We shall be finding out right about now. **Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

"Ja-mie…" coughing and letting her arm drop Mindy ran her fingers over James' gaping wound in his abdomen from where the stitches were ripped out but he paid no acknowledgement. The both of them wandered to the car in the sweltering desert sun and James was so enraged he couldn't even look down at her because he would break down crying. Her little body was so beaten, bloodied, and emaciated he could barely bring his eyes down to see the baby bump where Aiden was hopefully growing inside her.

Barely conscious he opened the driver's seat and almost staggered with her in his arms, but held the door frame and was able to plop in the driver's seat with Mindy in his arms because he just couldn't let her go. Remaining silent in his lap as he sat there for a moment with the door ajar in the driver's seat without starting the ignition, Mindy sniffled and stared at the floor because she was too scared to do much else at the moment.

She had been told that James had given up on her for Mark and now he had been completely done. James wanted no part of her according to her nameless captor yet here he was stitched up and smothered in blood for her. The guy had said James was gone, but she called him and begged him to come for the baby. He could abandon her, she didn't care about that but Aiden was their baby. He shouldn't suffer for her shortcomings and yes, if Aiden were to be born at this moment he would die but she still had a few months left with him. She had been gone for so long she didn't even realize how long she was living with that man. There was no time; there was no way to keep track of days of the week. This man had kept her in a bubble, and whatever he said was clearly the law. One toe out of line and she'd been brutalized, but he barely fed her and kept her in the dark. So as they were sitting like that in the light Mindy was about to throw up all over him and had her face buried in his chest so he could see the missing part of her scalp along with all the infected wounds everywhere else. Anybody else would have said she looked disgusting.

Her lips trembled because she was scared to touch his face, but his head lolled back against the seat just to gaze into her eyes…her unbelievably dead, empty eyes and he started sobbing.

"No…" shaking his head for what seemed like no reason at all he sobbed into her neck and ripped her close, kissing the skin frantically unable to even breathe properly. He did start the engine on the car though and close them in. The car was so hot sweat was beaded onto their skin and the old Jamie Doll would have made this into their own naughty playground, but their bodies were literally hanging on by a thread. James and Mindy had been bleeding together all over the sheets. She didn't want to seem pushy but reached out to touch the bleeding wound on him and sniffled.

"Jamie…" again with the croak she tried harder to catch his attention without seeming overly sexual or inviting. James didn't want her anymore she knew that. He came only for the purposes of saving his unborn son. "You need a hospital"

Kissing her forehead he had her rested over his back like a baby before glaring at the house as he attempted to speed away like a madman. His driving was unusually wayward and woozy, almost seeming drunk from afar but in reality it was the blood loss. The stitches being ripped out from his attempt at suicide re-aggravated his wounds and made life a thousand times more difficult for everyone. Now upon arrival they were going to have to rush the BOTH of them into emergency and keep them in separate rooms. James didn't realize JUST how badly he had screwed himself over by letting the stitches be taken out at this point in time.

…

They were indeed separated on arrival. Mindy had been whisked off to intensive care for more rounds of tests, treatments, and emergency procedures than they had to do on any single patient in a long time. Paparazzi had swarmed the place with the news that Mindy Stratus was alive and in tatters.

James on the other hand also had to go to emergency to get stitched back up and completely bound around his chest so he couldn't decide to be a menace and tear at his own wounds anymore. He had lost a large amount of blood and had soft tissue damage, so it was mandated that he not leave the room and let the IV do its job, though knowing him that was doubtful. His pregnant wife was in danger.

Mindy was operated on for more lengths of time than James in his doped state would think was necessary. That also worried him greatly. She was now heavy-pregnant (or at least supposed to be) with their first boy and he had been beyond frightened about that. What could they possibly be doing for all that time? It was obvious, sure, cleaning her wounds and trying to fight infections and disease but everything else? James was just having a hard time believing it. He wanted his wife after all this time believing she was dead and taken from him.

Ten hours passed. Ten long hours and no word on her. James had tried rising from his bed to rip out his IV but nurses everywhere rushed in and prevented that. Nobody was going to let James just rip out his bandages and run off to find his wife who probably didn't even know he was there. When they were finished with Mindy she would be unbelievably sedated…he actually believed maybe it would be a safe time to tell her about Tryg…when she barely could do anything about it. It seemed cruel yes, but for her own best interest and of everyone around her, delivering the news while she could barely process anything seemed like the right mood. How he could even think about that now was beyond him though. His wife he hadn't seen in months because some sick fuck was raping and torturing her was back with him and all he could think about was breaking the news of her dead son. Typical. Great way to fall back into her good graces.

…

"M-Mr. Lawson?" a nurse came in and gave him a nod, "She's sedated now, but you can come see her if you'd like"

James was up before she finished the sentence and went to rip the IV out of his arm when the nurse ran and grabbed it immediately.

"It's part of my job…" she nodded at him with a slight cringe but he didn't care.

"Where is she?" he didn't care how he got there but he was finding that fucking room, "Is she alright? What's-"

"Your baby is fine, James…" the nurse nodded once before frowning, "Miranda isn't doing so well on the other hand…" taking a deep breath she knew she wouldn't like that expression on his face, "There was nothing anyone could really do for her she was in such a state…the baby has actually eaten away most of her muscle tissue to stay alive"

"And what?" shaking his head frantically James nearly booked it to the room as fast as his limbs would go, "what does that mean, what's wrong with her?"

"We're doing everything we can, Mr. Lawson…" the nurse nodded along with a gulp, "we have her on a feeding tube right now hopefully that should work."

"Can I…?" motioning inside the room to the little hairball that no longer could resemble his wife sleeping with that tube down her throat he cringed. Shaking his head and holding a hand over his mouth he had to try hard not to cry though tears did stream down his face in buckets. His beautiful wife was completely mutilated and smothered in bandages from head to toe. It was unbearable for him to even look at because that was how she was going to look for a very very long time. He didn't even know what she could speak without the tube, yet he crawled into bed and kissed all over her pregnant belly anyway. The rest of her was just so pitifully thin compared to that he felt horrible, but she had to get better. Whatever it took for her to get better he didn't know, but he slept with her that way that night. He slept with her for several nights that way. She barely moved, she barely breathed, but James was there kissing, cuddling, bathing, and laying down next to her in the mattress. "I love you Baby Doll" sniffling he kissed her cheek and let himself cuddle closer against her each second. The doctors would look at the situation of him lying in bed like a watch dog like he was crazy, but no one was coming near Baby Doll ever again.

…

She did wake up eventually and when she did she was frightened. Her pills had to be pumped into her thrown an IV but what she wanted to see was James. She was looking around frantically and he was there…in bed with her…kissing her forehead and cooing that everything was going to be fine. Aiden was okay, she was getting better, and he loved her so much it wasn't even funny and he was dying without her.

"Ssshhh…Baby Doll" kissing her forehead more he knew the feeding tube was scaring the shit out of her, but his hand went over her belly to assure her that Aiden was fine because he knew she was panicking, "Baby Doll ssssshh…"

…

A few days later until she had gotten to the point that she could eat on her own the tube was removed and she just lay in bed with James babying her despite his own pain every two seconds. Once she became coherent though and was healthy enough to move around on her own she couldn't speak. She just lay in bed all day too scared to even speak, but James was there. Not only was he there, but his lips covered hers and that was all. They kissed endlessly. One minute his hand would weave in her hair and the other trickle down her throat. Both tongue slipped into the other's mouth ever so gently and Mindy had extended her arms to pull James over her in the bed and make out. To most it was unsettling but James and Mindy wanted it more than anything in the world.

Tears showed up on both sides and it wasn't long at all before they were practically sobbing into the other.

Natalya lingered in the doorway just watching them lie over the other exchanging those gentle kisses and caresses, stunned they hadn't eaten the other alive yet but Mindy could barely move. The poor thing's entire body was damaged, stitched, stuffed, operated on…she could barely even move her mouth to meet James's lips.

Just innocently observing the way they were making out like that told her everything she ever needed to know about the couple in three seconds. Despite whatever situation they were in, they were RIGHT. If anything at all they were the ONLY right in the world even if only they saw it. James Lawson and Miranda Marie Stratigias were meant for the other in some sick star-crossed way, and it showed immensely. They had literally everything including the kitchen sink thrown their way to tear them apart and clearly it hadn't put a dent in them. All they wanted was a life together and look how they were rewarded…with one misfortune after the next. It wasn't right or fair, but that was what it was.

She did bring Lizzie Bear in though. James eagerly took her and placed her against Mindy's chest so they could kiss and he petted her hair, knowing what he had to tell her even though she couldn't speak.

"Darling I love you…" nodding he ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her, "I love you more than…" sniffling he buried his nose in what was left of her hair for a moment, "more than I can ever fucking tell you…but…" he looked her in the eye now and made them press foreheads, "I need to tell you something bad…something horribly bad and you need to know right now…"

She gave him that glazed-over faraway look so he finally just bit the bullet and kissed her throat before saying it.

"Trygger had an accident in the bathtub while you were away and I was here trying to find you…" he knew she looked like someone shot her in the face, "he's dead."

The shriek which came from that room sounded like a strangled puppy and James ripped her close.


	45. Chapter 45

**Cathy** and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **jadeMK11:** She did but this time she has James to help her and that can make a world of difference. If anyone is gonna pull her through losing Tryg, it's him. **Illse'sPurpleSummer**: I know. I can't even imagine how she feels right now. It's horrible.

…

"I still can't believe it," Taylor said yet again, her hand over her mouth and her face stained with tears. She had lost track of how many times she had said that now. Natalya had called them almost immediately after James had brought Mindy back to the hospital and they hadn't really believed her at first. It really wasn't until she had actually played the voicemail that had led to Mindy being found. Once they believed her, they all really couldn't stop crying. Thorn and Scarlett started talking about how James had brought Mindy back from the angels and it had to be explained to them that she hadn't actually been with them in the first place. That information had been planted by the bad man to make them believe it.

Cooper shook his head. He and Taylor had Natalya on the phone again and it was on speaker so Amber, who had finally pulled herself together after crying from pure relief, could listen in on both sides of the conversation. "Can you just go through all of this for me again?" he asked. "I just…I can't even…" He shook his head and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. His brain felt like a giant thing of pudding at the moment.

"There's nothing more I can really say," Natalya said on the other end. "James went off the deep end with we all thought Mindy was dead, killed Mark when he made the mistake of going near him, tried to kill himself only to get distracted by the ghost of our dear Brian Pillman, in the meantime got a voicemail from Mrs. Jamie and fucking bolted out of here, not only returning with her but coming back just drenched in blood-a lot of it not his."

"But some was?" Taylor asked.

"Oh yeah. When he tried to off himself he drove his knife into his gut. And by the time he was back all those stitches were ripped out and he lost a fuck of a lot of his own blood."

"What about Mom?" Cooper asked.

"Cooper I already told you," Nattie said with a sigh. "When I said it's a wonder she's even alive, I MEANT it. Aiden was EATING her to survive. If James hadn't gotten to her when he did-"

"Are we SURE the guy is dead?" Taylor asked nervously. "Mr. Lawson wouldn't leave him-"

"Leave him alive?" Nattie actually started to laugh. "You don't know him too well do you?" She laughed a bit more. "There's nothing left of him, I can guarantee it."

Amber nodded along. She remembered how James had gotten Matt for just verbally insulting Mindy. That was nothing compared to all of this. It would be truly shocking if there was much of a body left to even get rid of.

"Did the cops say anything to him?" Cooper asked.

"Not that I know of," Nattie replied. "He's not really in a talkative move. He's too busy guarding Mindy."

"I want to see her." Amber startled both Taylor and Cooper by suddenly speaking up and letting them know she was there. "I want to see Mommy I want to see her." Words couldn't even begin to describe just how badly she needed to see her mother at the moment. She needed to be there right now so she could see her and just to make sure this was real and not some horrible dream.

"Oh sweetie…" Taylor reached out and pulled Amber on to her lap. Cooper kept pacing around the room although he did stop to randomly take the hair that was sitting on Taylor's shoulder and move it back. She blinked, confused at first but then she smiled weakly at him.

"I want to see her NOW!" Amber said forcefully. "We have to GO I NEED to see her."

"We'll go soon," Taylor promised. She smoothed down Amber's hair, knowing that the young girl wasn't really happy with that answer. "I promise we'll go see her soon." She wanted to go right now very badly but she knew they couldn't. "She might need another day to rest-"

"Like she's getting it with Dad," Cooper said with a snort.

"Cooper," Nattie said sharply. "James is taking more than great care of her. Don't even try to pull that jealousy bullshit or I'll come through that phone and plant my foot so far up your ass that it'll knock your teeth out."

Taylor's eyes widened at those words and Amber couldn't stop the snort and smirk that escaped from her. Cooper himself blinked several times before letting out a long sigh and folding his arms over his chest and pouting.

"You hang out with him way way WAY too much…"

…

As they were all talking Chelsea was sitting in James's office once again, Stickers clutched in her death grip as usual and she was using her free hand to draw a picture. Thorn and Scarlett were nearby, just watching her for a bit before trying to disturb her. "What are you drawing Chels?" Scarlett asked. The three year old wasn't rushing to tell them about it so they had to go forward and take a closer look for themselves.

Chelsea didn't even look over at them. She just kept drawing, pouting out her lower lip when Thorn and Scarlett came right up next to her. The picture was of James, as most of hers really were because life centered around Daddy. This time though, he was reaching up and grabbing Mindy out of the sky, who still had her angel wings from the time she drew her and Tryg over the graves. "Daddy got Mommy," she said with a curt nod.

Thorn and Scarlett exchanged looks. The picture clearly meant that Chelsea believed James pulled Mindy away from the angels and brought her back to life. "Chels, you know Mommy wasn't actually dead, right?" Thorn asked slowly.

"Yeah," Scarlett chimed in. "The bad man lied to us and told us Mommy died. She never died and went to the angels though. He still had her and Daddy got him and then saved her."

Chelsea wrinkled her nose in annoyance and set aside her crayon so she could slap an open palm against James's desk. "Daddy got Mommy! MY daddy. My best daddy." She nodded firmly and then looked at Stickers, who just wanted to get out of her vice grip. "He got Mommy Stickers. He-" she reached up with her free hand and acted like she was pulling something down from the sky. "got her he did. Daddy got Mommy. Daddy bring Mommy to Princess." She nodded and then looked at Thorn and Scarlett. "I'm" she pointed her thumb at her chest "Princess."

"We haven't forgotten," Thorn assured her.

"And Mommy is coming home to ALL of us!" Scarlett said sharply. "Not just you."

"I'm Princess," Chelsea repeated. She pointed to the drawing of Mindy. "That's Mommy and THAT" she pointed to James "is Daddy. My daddy. My best daddy." She grabbed the yellow crayon and also set the red crayon closer to her so she could draw Stickers once she was done drawing herself. "Daddy bring Mommy to Princess and the Stickers."

Thorn and Scarlett exchanged looks before shrugging and going off to go play with Oxa. They weren't even going to get into it with her. That was just not going to get them anywhere.

…

James held Mindy's body as close as he possibly could against his, her head buried against his chest and his hand carefully petting her hair. She hadn't said a word but she had cried and trembled and in response he cooed and kissed her gently. There was really not a whole lot he could truly say that would make this better so he was just going for being comforting. It seemed to be working since she wasn't completely acting out, but then again, she wasn't anywhere near the physical condition she was normally. Laying there and getting held and comforted by him was about all she was really capable of.

Mindy nested her head even more into James's chest. Her chest ached so horribly that it hurt. Her only baby boy was dead. James hadn't given her anymore details beyond it being an accident but it hadn't been needed. The news itself was more than enough.

"Mommy Mommy!"

Mindy gasped and looked over at the corner. Tryg was standing there, waving at her. "Hi Mommy!"

"Trggy!" Her voice found the strength it had lost and she started trying to reach for him. "Tryggy…come here! Come-" she stopped and coughed a bit "come to Mommy!"

James's eyes widened and he shook his head. "No Baby Doll. No no no" He carefully turned her so she was looking eye to eye with him. "Tryg's not here Baby Doll. He's not here it's only us. We're the only ones in here."

"Jamie he's here!" she said desperately. "He's-" She looked back and Tryg wasn't there. "No! Jamie he was here he was-"

"Ssshhh Baby Doll." James hugged her more and kissed the top of her head. She rested her head back on his chest and cried, her tears soaking him but he didn't give a shit. "I'm sorry Baby Doll."

Mindy cried for awhile longer, eventually lulled to silence by James's cooing. Her gaze drifted down to his side, where his stab wound was bandaged and stitched up. He hadn't told her how it had happened yet but it had been bad. He had been bleeding a whole bunch when he had taken her and Aiden out of the house. She barely ran her fingers over it and he let out a loud hiss before quickly stopping himself. Her eyes welled up with tears once more. James was hurt. He was pretending he wasn't but he was.

"Baby Doll come here." James gently tilted her head back up so they were staring eye to eye. He saw her tears and quickly worked on kissing them away before speaking again. "After we get out of here and Aiden's born, we're going to go away for awhile. Just us. Somewhere…I don't know. Somewhere with a beach. And we're going to just get away from all the badness and sadness and it's all going to be okay." He knew this really was needed. After all of this he certainly could use it and he knew she definitely needed an escape. The trauma she had experienced with the fucker that took her, losing her son…he just had to get her away for awhile.

Mindy sniffled. "But Mark-"

"Mark's dead Baby Doll. I never was with him." James shook his head for emphasis. "That man lied Baby Doll. He lied to you just like he lied to me by telling me you were dead. Mark came to me and I killed him. I didn't want him I never did. I wanted to be with you not him. Not him not ever again. His body's rotting somewhere in a sewer unless they've found him…which I doubt."

Mindy just stared at him for a moment before crying once more and James held her close, kissing her and cooing in her ear once more. His mind was already thinking ahead of what else needed to be done. Get her well and as over Tryg's death as possible (he knew she wouldn't ever fully recover but he would do everything he could to make sure he didn't lose her too because of it), going to somewhere to recover more…and get away from Vegas. He couldn't take her back to the house there. There was no way he could ask her to live in the same house Tryg died in. It just wasn't going to happen. And the thought of just getting another house in Vegas wasn't what he was thinking. It had been once upon a time but not anymore. No, he was thinking they would go to Malibu since that house was big enough for them. And it had the beach…Baby Doll loved the beach. He himself didn't really care that he was planning on leaving the one city he had called home for his entire life. Home was Baby Doll and that was more than enough for him.


	46. Chapter 46

**Illse'sPurpleSummer**: Starting up again is the last thing Cooper needs to do right now…which of course means he more than likely will. He never learns. **jadeMK11**: Yes she is. Though James helped her snap out of it which is good. He needs to keep right on doing that so he don't lose her again. **Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

James and Mindy's hands eventually folded over the other's and they slowly glided their tongues into the other's mouth, Mindy placed practically in a trance state by James. If he wanted to be cruel he really could have taken advantage with his young catatonic bride, but blinded by love he didn't. Instead they kissed gently, squeezing the other's hand as he let the makeout session continue. Nearly two days after he delivered the news she had gone through several post-traumatic stages. The kid was already in the ground so there would be no funeral for her to attend, which made the bereaved mother have a near heart attack at the fact that she couldn't attend her own son's funeral. Therapy wasn't going to pull her through this, everyone knew it.

Dr. Halla had taken to pulling James aside and discussing the cognitive therapy needed to pull Mindy out of the slump, and she barely responded. Her personality had essentially zapped away and she became an object of anyone's usage. Sure it had only been two days, but they had been two very disturbing days. With Mindy barely responding to any sort of therapy Halla was becoming worried, almost on the verge of suggesting she be placed in a mental hospital if the behavior continued.

Physically she was letting herself deteriorate even more. James was the only one able to get her to think about eating and her gaping wounds everywhere weren't healing the way they were desired to do so. When the doctors wanted her to complete a specific task such as physical therapy for her deteriorated muscles James got her to do so, but as far as language went nothing escaped her lips. She was essentially dead. James had no idea if the kids were coming or not, but he didn't think it would be the best idea for them to see their mother in the state she was in. Mindy virtually only wanted a part of James, who could make her roll over and die.

There were no knocks on the door it just swung open, and in came the cancer patient screaming with her arms extended all the way.

"MOMMY! MOMMY!"

Perking slightly and raising a medium toned eyebrow, Mindy watched Amber jump on the bed and blubber while throwing her arms around her. Mindy gulped and sat still a moment before embracing her back.

"MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY!" was all Amber could shriek repetitively, sobbing into her skin as Mindy just calmly held her and nodded, which reminded Amber and she whimpered, "I am so sorry Mommy…" nodding and sniffling she nuzzled her mother's neck, "I am so sorry about Tryg, I know you"

Holding a finger to Amber's lips Mindy slowly shook her head before holding Amber close. James sat very still, trying his best in the bed next to Mindy not to make any sudden sounds god forbid he set either of them off. The duo was very funky when on their own, so he had to be wary of how different they got when together so his head could stay intact. Seconds later Chelsea, the twins, and Nattie holding Elizabeth entered the room and they were all screaming. Chelsea actually had her drawing clutched in her hand and Stickers hanging by the neck in her other arm.

"MOMMY YOU LOOK TERRIBLE!" Scarlett shrieked and held a hand over her mouth, glancing at her mother all over and shaking her head in denial. That couldn't be her mother there was no way that was her mother.

"How is AIDEN, Mommy?" Thorn ripped Oxa up onto the bed with them and trickled her fingers over the baby bump, allowing James's hand to covered her shoulder as he spoke up lightly.

"Aiden is alright, Mommy and I have been watching him through the ultrasound" James nodded and kissed the top of her head paternally, already pulling Chelsea into his lap because she wanted to see Mommy when Mommy would ONLY pay attention to her. Aside from the three older girls, Elizabeth was clinging to Mommy with Lammy hanging out of her mouth. Mindy had Elizabeth and Amber in both her arms while glancing around the room at James and Chelsea. "She's WAITING, sweetheart" James smirked while adjusting Elizabeth.

"No, why?" shaking her head while kissing both Elizabeth and Amber, Mindy reached out for Chelsea and the baby practically launched into her arms with the picture. James had played it smart by immediately snagging Elizabeth as Mindy sat with Chelsea, Amber, and running her fingers through both Thorn and Scarlett's hair.

"MOMMY!" Chelsea cried for a long time, sobbing loudly before ripping Stickers closer by the neck despite how badly the animal tried to get away and showed Mindy the picture she had made.

"Ooo!" grinning now Mindy nuzzled Chelsea's head and Elizabeth was immediately becoming a green-eyed monster in her father's arms that Mommy was paying more attention to Chelsea than her, "What did you make there, Chels?"

"YOU" nodding Chelsea pointed to the angel in the sky which James was pulling down, "DADDY…" looking Mindy in the eye Chelsea nodded and expected Mindy to nod along, "that's DADDY…"

"I see, boo-boo" petting Stickers and pulling the red panda into her lap Mindy nodded, "I see and I love it very very much…"

"Daddy brings you BACK" Chelsea nodded while making Mindy's eyes follow her fingers to the bottom of the picture where a drawing of blonde Chelsea with the little red scribble for Stickers was, "for the Stickers and ME."

"For Stickers and you?" repeating kindly Mindy raised a medium-toned eyebrow and Chelsea nodded.

"The Stickers and me."

"Nobody else?" she asked incredulously and Chelsea shook her head with authority.

"Nobody else."

"Why?"

"My Mommy" nodding Chelsea glared at her sisters and patted the top of Mindy's pregnant belly to nod, "My brother…TOO."

"Your Mommy and YOUR brother, I see…" smiling while trying not to giggle Mindy looked up at James, who was trying to hide the snort himself at that statement.

…

"Cooper fucking go in there!" Taylor motioned to the ward where Mindy was being kept but he could only shake his head and drop his eyes.

"No…" he looked genuinely sick to his stomach, "I can't."

"Why not?" shaking her head Taylor shrugged and nearly slapped her rail-thin thigh, "Cooper this is MOM why the hell can't you go in there?"

"Are you fucking nuts insinuating that I go in there and see Mommy WITH DAD sitting right in her fucking lap and breathing down her neck?" Cooper growled and she nodded with wide blue eyes.

"Yes. That is exactly what I want you to do. You think you're gonna gain Mr. Lawson's respect back by sitting on your ass? GO in there the SAME time as him and show some RESPECT. HEEL to him for once in your life, Cooper! HE'S the patriarch! YOU as long as you keep living under his room are under HIM. GET it?"

"Look…" breathing deeply Cooper ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "I want to see Mommy by myself, okay?"

"Why?" she shrugged, not for her own purposes but to bring light to how ridiculous he was being, "Why?"

"Why WHAT?"

"Why do you need your own private time with her when you can just come in with us and possible make James able to tolerate living under the same roof as you?"

"How about it's none of your fucking business, alright?" narrowing his eyes Cooper shook his head and barred his teeth, "Fucking honestly it is NOT a big deal. I LOVE her. I fucking love the fucking hell out of her I don't need another god damn Dad in this situation alright?"

"But Cooper…" shaking her head Taylor rubbed the back of her neck and tried not to cry, "She's HIS wife…"

"You think I care?" shaking his head he shrugged and shook his head, "I have every right to see her alone if I want to"

"After you RAPED her?"

"Can you stop fucking throwing that shit in my face already?" he sneered as if it didn't even matter, "It's OVER. DONE. I didn't even KNOW you when that happened and if I DID, I wouldn't have CARED. I want to see my fucking mother alone and if ANYONE is lower than me on the totem pole in this family it's YOU. One slip-up and Mom will kick you out so fucking fast your head will spin"

Shaking her head at him in astonishment Taylor could only whimper and feel her blue eyes welling with tears before shaking her head, "You are SO not who I thought you were."

With that she turned and stormed away, leaving Cooper by his lonesome and headed for the direction of Mindy's room.

…

"So what?" shrugging indifferently Mindy wrinkled her nose and looked to James a bit disgusted, "Is she like rehiring herself or something?"

"I don't know…" James shook his head and pulled Mindy tighter under his arm. He and all his lovely ladies were huddled together on the bed, not really saying much except for Chelsea, who had to tell everyone exactly what she drew in her picture and why a thousand times. Mindy had already tacked it up on her wall above the bed so everyone could see, but that wasn't good enough for Chelsea. The world wasn't good enough for Chelsea. Chelsea had actually grabbed a dry erase marker and drew a happy face on Mindy's pregnant belly. When asked why she said because Aiden was happy to be her brother. She didn't have an old one anymore. Mindy twitched visibly at that but didn't show it. It was her baby, and though it was death knowing her son was dead she had to at least attempt to move on with her life.

"SO what does that mean?" Mindy's shapely eyebrow rose as Amber sat applying makeup to her mother's icy skin.

"You're so beautiful Mommy…" Amber sighed while pulling down the skin under Mindy's eyes to get some undereye concealer on her complexion. Mindy though completely ignored her and looked right at James.

"Seriously Jamie, you KNOW how I feel about her I do not want her in my house anymore giving me shit and being a fucking bitch I cannot take it."

"Baby Doll…" sighing James ran a hand through his hair, it seemed to be somewhat back to the old Mindy, "you know I would never do that, sweetheart, I love you"

"Good" Mindy nodded while running her fingers through Chelsea's long loosely curled blonde locks, "I do not want to see her face around here anymore unless she truly has had a change of heart and stops being a total cunt to me"

Amber chuckled darkly as did Thorn and Scarlett while doing their mother's makeup. The door opened and in came Taylor all by herself more than happy to see Mindy, tears in her eyes and Mindy smiled weakly too. Her appearance was slightly less horrifying because of the makeup and Taylor sprinted to the bed to lunge and hug Mindy, sobbing into her neck gratefully and letting her foster mother pet her hair.

"Mommy…!" sniffling and whimpering Taylor kept her face buried in Mindy's neck and she just felt so COLD. Every touch with Mindy was freezing the girl was an ice box. There was no warmth in Mindy Stratus' touch or caress, it was all ice cold. Taylor didn't know how James was able to withstand that. Touching her was like hugging a pole in the wintertime. It actually was a bit of shock it was so cold.

…

Cooper had used the kids to tell James they were hungry and not for hospital food, forcing James and Taylor to physically leave with the kids reluctantly. James didn't want to go, he really didn't. He was violently for staying with Mindy but of course, Baby Doll worked her magic and James did as she pleased. With the coast clear, Cooper pushed into the room to see Mindy's eyes widen to see him all alone standing in the doorway.

"Cooper…?" pouting her lips Mindy peered to see him in the dark and he closed the door behind him, ensuring no one could see in.


	47. Chapter 47

**Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: I know. He's ridiculous. And you're welcome : ) **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Yes it was. And yeah, I agree. It's going to get him killed if James finds out.

…

"Momma…" Cooper all but launched himself across the room and on to the bed with her, his arms wrapping themselves around her tiny body and ripping her close. The number that had been done on her was more than he could stand. He didn't even want to imagine what she had looked like when she had first been found and he sure as hell didn't want to think about what had been done to her. So he blocked it out of his mind as much as he could and held on to her even more tightly. He squeezed his eyes shut so he could attempt to control most of the tears that were spilling out of him but it wasn't like it did much good. He was bawling like a little baby, there was no getting around it.

"Hi Bub," Mindy said as she nestled her head under his chin. She didn't question why he waited until now to come in. She didn't have to. She just snuggled up against him and let her hold him because that was what he obviously needed right now. Normally she would be the one holding him as he cried but it was just easier to go along with this at the moment. "Where did you hide?" The very fact that he was in here and not in the hallway in a million pieces meant that he had stayed the hell out of James's sight.

"Janitor's closet," he admitted. He had ducked in the nearby one when James and Taylor had taken the kids out to go get something to eat. He had gotten quite a few strange looks when he came back out but he had hardly paid any attention to them.

A small giggle escaped her. "You came out of the closet again Bub."

Cooper's lips twitched at that. "Yes I did. Taste my mother fucking rainbow." He tried to laugh at his own joke but he couldn't really do it. He was still pretty emotionally fucked up from thinking she was dead in the first place. He honestly had not felt alive during the time he had believed he had lost her forever. He had gone through the motions really, talking to Taylor, taking care of Connor and the girls…he had mindlessly done that while screaming and crying on the inside-during the day anyway. At night he let it out, screaming and crying into his pillow and feeling completely crippled by his grief. If she hadn't turned out to be alive or if he hadn't heard the news when he had nothing good would have been in his future. Another trip down the road of drugs, wallowing in his misery and just waiting to die…that would have been his path in life, no doubt. And there would have been nobody that could have saved him. Taylor loved him yeah but she wasn't Mindy. He couldn't ever love her the way he loved Mindy because Mindy…well he couldn't even begin to describe it. Their relationship just _was_ really. They had something, a really really strong something, there was no denying that. They got each other in ways nobody else could. He got her better than James did and the only person that ever had got him the way she did was Joie, and he was long since dead…it went against his sexual orientation, it went against James's will but he really didn't care. He loved her more than life itself and that wasn't about to change for anything.

She looked back up at him and nothing else really needed to be said. They just looked at each other for a few minutes and then Cooper made the first move. He kissed her, gentle at first but then his own neediness got the best of him and he started kissing her harder and deeper. She was kissing him back, although it wasn't quite as passionately as he was doing it to her. He didn't really seem to notice though. He was too busy taking advantage of the fact that he had her all to himself, completely disregarding the fact that he shouldn't be doing this and what James was going to do to him if he even began to suspect that this happened.

…

The debate about where to go boiled down to McDonalds or Taco Bell. James kept mum on the subject, letting them decide on their own. Chelsea didn't care at all; she was too busy talking to James and letting him know that Stickers was hungry too. Elizabeth was chewing away on Lammy's face and alternating between calling for James's attention and adding her two cents in the conversation with the other girls. Of course, her contributions consisted of shouting "Lammy", "no no no" and blowing raspberries at every opportunity and maybe they weren't helpful but James got a huge kick out of it. Scarlett though, wasn't quite as amused.

"She's slobbering all over you," she informed Taylor, who happened to be sitting next to Elizabeth. "That's gross you've got SPIT all over you."

"It's not that bad," Taylor said with a shrug. "I'll take baby slobber over a lot of other things." She looked at Elizabeth, who was just chewing away on Lammy's face and staring at her intently. "Is Lammy going to eat with us too Lizzie Bear?"

"LAMMY!" Elizabeth waved her beloved stuffed animal around and squealed so loudly it startled Stickers and he started trying to get out of Chelsea's grasp, which did not set well with her at all.

"NO Stickers!" She tightened her grip on him and then gave Elizabeth quite the dirty look. "No no no! SSSSHHHH!"

Elizabeth blew a raspberry at her. That's what she thought of that.

McDonalds ended up being the destination of choice and James carried Elizabeth and Chelsea inside while Taylor led Amber and the twins in. "I don't think Stickers is allowed in here Daddy," Thorn said wisely. "People don't like animals here."

"I don't think Chelsea or Daddy care," Amber said with a snort.

She was right. Chelsea and James didn't care. Chelsea was bound and determined to have Stickers eat with her and James was completely whipped to her whims, so he was going to make sure that happened. The manager did try to say something to him but James straightened himself up to his full height and gave him the dirtiest look he could muster, just daring him to say something. The man, a scrawny older man who was a good foot shorter than James, backed off quickly. Any set of rules about animals in here weren't going to apply to Chelsea or any of the rest of them if James didn't want them to. They would get whatever the hell it was they wanted and if Stickers eating with them was what Chelsea wanted then, then damn it, that was what was going to happen.

James got all the kids kid's meals and McFlurries and then let Taylor order before getting himself four Big Macs, five cheeseburgers and four large fries. "Holy…" Taylor couldn't even finish that sentence as they sat down with all the food. "How…"

James just shrugged and worked on getting Elizabeth and Chelsea's food broken up for them so they could eat too.

"Daddy's lucky he doesn't get fat," Scarlett said bluntly. "He just eats and eats and eats and eats and he don't ever get full. One of these days his stomach is going to get as big as a house and it's going to go to his thighs and ass."

James blinked and looked down at himself, feel self conscious all of a sudden. "It will not…"

"You don't ever work out," Thorn pointed out. "Unless hunting counts."

"I don't really do it anymore," James admitted. "But I've got other ways to burn calories."

"And they all involve Mommy." Amber smirked and shook her head. "Mommy told me that you were the one that told her sex burns a lot of calories." The smirk suddenly left her face. "You-"

"I haven't even gone for it," James quickly assured her. "Kissing's all we've done. Her getting better is more important than that." He finished helping Elizabeth and Chelsea and quickly began to dig in to his own food. Contrary to what they all believed he wasn't planning on eating all of his food right now. He was going to take some of it back to the hospital with him and share it with Mindy.

"Here Stickers," Chelsea said as she grabbed one of her fries and put it right up to the panda's mouth. "Eat it."

Stickers was more interested in trying to get away from her, which only made her all but literally shove the fry into his mouth. "Eat it Stickers!"

"Maybe he's not hungry," Taylor said gently.

"Daddy, Mommy looks terrible," Scarlett said bluntly, making James choke a bit on his food. She was shaking her head in disappointment at him. "How can you let her look like that?"

"Well…" James chewed and swallowed his food "I've been trying to get Mommy to _eat_ and get her through the physical therapy she has to do. But maybe we can give her a makeover when we get back to the hospital."

Scarlett nodded firmly. "I'll do most of the work. I'm much better at it than all of you."

"You are not," Thorn denied.

"Are too," Scarlett shot back. "I'm the prettiest so I'm the best at making anyone else look pretty. I've made Daddy look REALLY pretty before so there."

James chuckled a bit and then stopped and sighed. "Girls…I gotta talk to you about something."

Amber exchanged looks with the twins. This didn't sound good. "What is it?" Her voice had a sharper tone to it and James pretended not to notice.

"I was thinking about what's going to happen after Mommy's allowed to leave the hospital and stuff and uh…" he took a quick drink of his Coke because it felt like he had a piece of hamburger stuck in his throat somewhere "I was thinking we would go back to Malibu. I mean like permanently."

That one caught the girls off guard. They just looked at him and then looked at each other and looked back at him. "You actually want to move to California?" Amber asked.

"It's not about me. I think it'll be better for Mommy. She can't go back home…being in the house Tryg died just…no. I don't think that'll do her any good at all."

An uncomfortable silence came across the table at the mention of Tryg. Taylor shrunk down in her seat and she bowed her head meekly, the guilt she was still feeling bubbling up and making her sick to her stomach. Amber noticed that and moved the conversation along. "Did you talk to Mommy yet."

"I'm going to."

"What about Connor? He won't want to move."

"I'll talk to him. Where is he anyway? Home with Cooper?"

"Home with Julie," Thorn corrected.

"Then where's Cooper?" It was just occurring to him now that he hadn't seen him anywhere around and he was already mentally slapping himself for not catching that before. And even though he asked the question he already did know the answer. He was just looking for the verbal confirmation.

Taylor really felt uncomfortable now and she didn't answer. Thorn did though. "He was at the hospital with us. He didn't come in to see Mommy with us though…Daddy maybe he's with her now!"

"Annnnnnd…you just killed him," Amber said as James's face clouded over with rage. "Congratulations. He's the deadest man on the planet now."


	48. Chapter 48

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Yep. And that means baaaaad news for Cooper. **Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you! **jadeMK11:** Good advice but the odds of him taking it aren't good. He's a dumbass like that.

…

Cooper and Mindy's makeout session had a few interruptions all really from Mindy's end. She had tried to withdraw and pull back, but nothing was working. He did have a draw to him which was making it increasingly difficult to stop it, but she swallowed hard and tried to tap his shoulder. Instead he squeezed her hand in his, lacing the fingers as she glanced about for maybe a nurse to buzz and come in. She had a buzzer button she did. It was red and sitting on a remote control they handed her.

Between kisses Mindy curled her little fingers without nails around a white remote and pressed as hard as her limp thumbs could.

Two knocks sounded on the door and the nurses came in, making Cooper jump back and they approached the bed to fluff her pillow and cater to the popstar.

"What would you like, Mindy?" the younger nurse folded her hands in front of her and kindly asked, and Mindy immediately motioned to the catheter and pointed to the bathroom, clearly lying but she had to get Cooper away.

"Awww alright Min, come on" smiling the older nurse helped Mindy to her feet and she was wobbly, but they painfully brought her towards the ajar bathroom door when the younger nurse cringed at Cooper.

"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to leave"

"Why?" Cooper frowned and shook his head, "It's my mom"

The nurses exchanged glances and had a hard time believing that, so the older one spoke up gently.

"Your stepmother signed a contract a while back granting your uncle as her medical guardian…only he is allowed in the room during these types of situations"

"Why?" Cooper scoffed and narrowed his eyes, "He's not even HERE he's out doing-"

"Doing WHAT?" that hiss from the doorway made Cooper cringe, dying a thousand deaths as James stood with a clenched fist.

All kinds of death and evil thoughts brewed in James's mind as he glared at his nephew.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" he raised an eyebrow, just sadistically waiting for Cooper to panic his response, "I thought Taylor couldn't find you"

"She…" Cooper was stammering, completely scared out of his mind as James slowly stalked into the bed without any of the kids. He had left them outside the room with Nattie and Taylor, knowing better than to actually bring them in the room with what he wanted to do to Cooper in mind. "She-"

"She WHAT?" scowling James searched the room with his eyes and glared at Cooper, "Where's my wife?"

"She's going to the bathroom Mr. Lawson, she'll be right out" the younger nurse nodded quickly when the door burst open and out she limped with the biggest smile on her face, which immediately pulled James from his homicidal slump and he grinned.

"Baby Doll…" smiling fondly he leaned down and kissed her deeply, melting inside as her hands went to his face and gently pet his hair as they kissed. He would do it again instantaneously if she wanted, he'd do anything she wanted.

"HIYA Jamie!" her mouth covered his and Cooper just wanted to be sick. They were baby-talking each other. He fucking hated the baby talk bullshit. It was annoying and unnecessary. They just held each other, pathetic. James was forty-six years old yet he needed to hang all over and make out with Mindy like they were in high school. It was disgusting. James was so old. He wasn't even sure if his dick was truly working without Viagra yet.

"Alright, seriously?" Cooper shook his head and went to leave, but before he could get out the door James broke the kiss and launched himself on top of Cooper.

"JAMES!" shrieking Mindy covered a hand over her mouth as James tackled Cooper to the ground and pummeled him, "JAMES!"

"Son of a bitch fucking putting your hands on my wife…fucking putting your hands on my god damn wife!" with barred teeth James reached into his pocket for his hunting knife Mindy had bought him when nurses screamed, running out of the room to call security.

Mindy wanted to intervene as the knife came out of his hand but couldn't. Not even if she wanted to, she was pregnant. Ripping the two apart would be her pleasure but Aiden was on the line now, and her pregnancy had way too much trauma to go for any more.

"JAMES!" she tried again, Cooper completely powerless against the Lawson patriarch as he literally smashed Cooper's face in with one single right hook, "JAMES!"

The knife flicked out, scaring the hell out of her for too many reasons and as James licked his lips to get ready to swing his arm down and stab, he cut Mindy's hand as she tried to pull the knife away and that was it. Blood dripped onto his shoulder as she stared at the bloodied line running up the palm of her hand from literally closing her hand over the blade.

"BABY Doll!" this was the second accidental mistake he had made from Mindy trying to get between him and someone else. Her hand bled and he left Cooper's bloodied face by his lonesome to do whatever he wanted. Security rushed to the room to seize James, but being Mindy Stratus she just clung to James and coddled him. The guards were given no choice but to turn a blind eye for the celebrity and her volatile husband.

Panting heavily James tangled a hand in her hair and kissed the bloodied line on her hand, waiting for nurses to stitch it up in mild horror that he allowed this to happen once again. His behavior HAD to get under control. This was the second time he placed Baby Doll in danger because he couldn't control his temper. Sniffling he pulled Mindy into the bed with him and kissed her hard on the mouth. Her hand was bandaged and he just hugged her little body, kissing the fingers and nuzzling her neck waiting for Nattie to come in with McDonald's for her. Mindy loved McDonald's, she was a rockstar so fast food was a favorite on the road and she simply loved eating it despite how horrible it was for the body. She had James to keep her skinny. Cooper had been moved to get his face fixed but didn't need to stay, instead he was released to Taylor and Nattie, who didn't even know what to say to him and his broken nose. His entire face was battered, but the broken nose stood out the most. The kids were snickering amongst themselves, Elizabeth going as far as to bop him on the head with her bottle and drink out of it.

"Fucking kid…" glaring at Elizabeth with barred teeth Cooper watched Lizzie Bear blow a raspberry at him while Taylor led her in to be with Mommy and Daddy, an offer which they both took and let the rest of their kids come in too to sit on the bed and be with them. Mindy was still in very poor health but James seemed to mentally be a plus for her.

…

"He didn't bother you, did he?" frowning James fed her a french fry and made sure she chewed and swallowed. Her jaw moved weakly but he kissed her jaw with every single motion it made. Her hand closed over his wrist and he brought it to his mouth to kiss. He had gotten her an Oreo McFlurry and a wildberry smoothie too because she loved them from McDonald's. He would have bought her the entire restaurant if she gave him the order.

"No…" shrugging, Mindy frowned and kissed his hand after she swallowed.

He knew that look on her face, he knew every look on her face. Leaning in he kissed her and she ran a hand through her hair, tears welling up in her eyes and she began bawling her eyes out before him. The kids all jumped from fright and tried to keep quiet when Mindy dug her fingers in James' arm and he knew.

Looking to all the kids James kept only Elizabeth and Chelsea while moving the older girls out so they wouldn't have to hear.

"I've got them" Taylor gave James a nod and immediately put her arms around the three older girls so she could bring them away from whatever Mindy was about to say to James. Whatever it was she was just praying they wouldn't have a fight of any kind. Grabbing the kids she moved and closed the door so James was left with Mindy, Elizabeth, and Chelsea.

Lying down in the bed with Mindy, James was immediately cuddled and kissed by her. He nuzzled her neck and placed a long kiss on her.

"Jamie…" sniffling and squeezing him tight, Mindy looked him in the eye and whimpered.

"Baby Doll no…" he rubbed their noses and petted her face.

"Jamie I" she started crying and coughed, "I want to make this right."

"Baby Doll…" pouting his lips he shook his head when she placed her fingers over his lips and they kissed deeply. The crying got louder as she continued kissing him, gliding her tongue into his mouth and hugging him as close as he could.

"US! WE have had so many problems I want US right again I DO I DO I DO! No more fights or taking sides or crying or nothing I LOVE YOU JAMIE! You are my best friend in the entire world and I have been LYING to you to be mean but I HAVE TO make it right I do Jamie darling! It HAS to be right again! You are my best friend Jamie please please please"

"Tell me, Baby Doll…" stroking her face he kissed her hard on the lips and softened dramatically, trying to half-smile for her and kiss her more, "I want to know sweetheart, you KNOW I'm listening you're safe with me I want you to be able to PLEASE talk to me! TALK TO ME sweetheart, I'm listening I love you so fucking much."

"I can't…" suddenly covering a hand over her mouth she shook her head and cried harder, James nuzzling her neck and cooing the softest, sweetest whisper.

"Why…? Tell my why, Baby Doll please"

"You will…" she coughed and nodded, "You will leave me"

"No…" his head shook and they kissed, "never…Baby Doll I would never leave you not for anything I love you unconditionally you know that"

"You have to promise me we will never fight each other ever ever again, PLEASE!"

"I promise!" he nodded in her face and leaned to give her a long kiss, "I promise I promise! I don't want to fight you, Baby Doll, I never want to fight you I hate fighting I'm so in love with you"

"I love you TOO James which is why I HAVE to be honest! I have been not telling you this and I need to and it"

"Baby just tell me please" his hand rested over the baby bump and they kissed, "Just tell me how bad could it be?"

"BAD. But I HAVE to tell you because we are having a BABY and are MARRIED and…" she whimpered, "You will never trust me ever again…"

"Why?" he cooed and stroked her hair, "I'll always trust you I trust you with my life"

"You do not understand…"

"No but Baby Doll I do…I trust you with my life you're the mother of my children I can't even come close to rationalizing how deeply I love you"

She grabbed his face once again and they kissed, deeper and deeper by the moment. Her hands wove into his hair and his tongue gently glided alongside hers, sending shockwaves throughout her entire body when they pressed foreheads and she choked before finally speaking.

"I hooked up with Cooper…a lot."


	49. Chapter 49

**Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: We'll get his reaction and his plans of what to do next right now. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Cooper does take advantage of her and has sorely tested his limits of when to quit. And in a way it could be seen like that, though with James, she never truly meant to hurt him and does really want to start over. The fighting from Hurricane and the begging of this story took a horrible toll on their relationship and combine that with the complicated relationship with Cooper…in the end though, her heart really truly only belongs with one and it's not with the one who just got his face bashed in.

…

James could only blink at first after she dropped that bombshell. At first he thought he heard her wrong but then he saw the look on her face. She was scared to death that he was going to blow up on her for that. That made the words start to sink into his head. She had hooked up with Cooper. She was admitting her own guilt in the situation and his chest tightened up on him, even as his head immediately started denying it. No, it couldn't be her fault. It was Cooper it had to be Cooper. Cooper had tricked her into it somehow. Yes. That had been it. A lot of people would think that was just absolutely ridiculous and totally wrong for him to justify what she was admitting to doing but he didn't care. Those people didn't know shit. She had been with Mark after he raped her. He had mind fucked her into a relationship by saying that he loved her and doing all this stuff and in his mind, Cooper had done the same thing. Cooper had done the exact same thing and it had been going on right under his nose.

"Jamie…" Mindy knew she had hurt him she could tell. "Jamie I'm sorry I'm-"

James cut her off with a kiss. "Baby Doll no. You don't have to be sorry you don't."

"I DO Jamie I DO!" Mindy shook her head frantically. "I hurt you I did!"

"Baby Doll-"

"Do you hate me?"

"No! Baby Doll no no no!" James kissed her hard, doing everything he could to get rid of that fear. "I could NEVER hate you Baby Doll not ever. I LOVE you."

"But you're mad."

"At Cooper for taking advantage of you! I'm NOT mad at you. Never you Baby Doll never you." He kissed her harder and clung to her for dear life. He was whipped to her he and he totally loved it. He had hurt her in the past he knew that. He regretted it so much it was more than he could really stand. She was his Baby Doll, his world; he had her on such a high pedestal that anyone else would find it absolutely ridiculous. He promised her no more fighting and he meant it. He didn't want to fight, he didn't ever have it in him to be mad at her; he just was desperate for them to be them and have everything be perfect. Somewhere along the way shit just got in the way of that and then he had almost lost her for good. When he thought he had it really had killed him and getting her back…he couldn't even begin to describe it. It just went beyond anything and everything else in the world, save for the kids, just was nothing compared to her. There was absolutely _nothing_ and _nobody_ that would get between them again. Not ever. He would make damn sure of that.

"I love you," James said as he buried his face in her neck and kissed it softly. "I love you Baby Doll I do."

"I love you MOST," Mindy countered, wrapping her arms around him and holding on tightly.

James kissed her neck harder before pressing his forehead back against hers. "I love you so much Baby Doll it'll be better I swear." He nodded along quickly. "We'll go somewhere just us like I said before and when we'll get back we'll be in Malibu. We'll live there Baby Doll we will unless you want somewhere else."

Mindy frowned a bit. "Jamie you like Vegas. I know you do."

"Baby Doll it don't matter what I like," James said quickly. "It don't."

"But it matters to ME."

"Baby Doll" he kissed her firmly "Malibu can be our new start. It can. It'll be better for us and it'll be better for the kids."

"Vegas is your home."

"YOU'RE my home," he corrected. "If I'm with you, I'm home. That's all that matters to me." He saw the tears that were in her eyes and he kissed her, deepening it when she petted his hair. This was normally the part where a giant long sexcapade would take place but he was still being very very respectful to her physical condition so there was only kissing. She was crying and even as he tried to wipe them away with his thumbs they kept coming out.

"I love you James I love you," she said desperately as she hugged him tighter.

"I love you Baby Doll. So fucking much I love you."

Elizabeth stared at her parents for a couple of more seconds before looking at Lammy. "Ma-bu Lammy, ma-bu."

Mindy and James both got the biggest grins on their faces. "That's right Lizzie Bear!" James said happily. "We're going to Malibu!"

"Ma-bu!" Lizzie hugged Lammy tightly and snuggled up against James and Mindy, which made Chelsea wrinkle her nose and pout out her lower lip.

"And Stickers!" she declared, holding out the panda until James gave both him and her a kiss on the nose.

"Yes, Stickers will go to California with us too."

"The Stickers," she corrected.

"Oh yes, I'm sorry. The Stickers will go with us." He reached out and tickled her stomach, which made her howl with laughter.

"Lizzie's never been to California," Mindy pointed out as she smoothed down their young daughter's hair. "When she was inside me don't count."

"Well she'll love it," James said with a nod. "And Aiden will too."

"That's" Chelsea pointed to Mindy's pregnant belly "my brother."

"Yes Princess, Aiden is your brother." James gave her a kiss on the cheek, which made Lizzie frown and put her hands on Mindy's stomach possessively.

"MINE!"

"No, mine!" Chelsea corrected.

"Mine!"

"NO!"

"Mine mine mine!"

"MY brother!"

"MINE!"

"Babies babies, he's BOTH your brother," James corrected gently.

Chelsea and Elizabeth both made faces before shouting "MINE!" at the same time, which made Mindy dissolve into a huge fit of giggles.

…

"So do you think Cooper is not going to be allowed to live with us anymore?" Thorn asked as she opened one of the magazines so she could make Oxa read it. Amber was flipping through another one of her own and Scarlett was playing with Taylor's hair to entertain herself.

"Oh yeah," Scarlett said. "It's bye bye Cooper all over again."

"He's lucky a busted face was all he got," Amber said without looking up from her magazine. "But he's used up all his luck I think."

"Daddy told him over and over again to quit," Scarlett agreed. "But he didn't listen."

"He never listens," Thorn said with a shake of her head. "I think CONNOR listens better than him."

Amber snorted. "Let's not go THAT far…"

Taylor listened to the girls carry on their conversation, not adding in anything else in herself. She didn't even know what to say. On the outside she was calm but on the inside she was hurting really bad. She had fallen so fucking in love with Cooper but the way he had snapped at her had just been horrible and James had caught him alone with Mindy…they all knew stuff had gone down in there and it had gone down before. And it hurt her because she had told him what he meant to her and it didn't mean a damn thing. He was still chasing a relationship with someone who couldn't ever be with him the way he wanted to be with them. Mindy belonged with James. She had something with Cooper yes but she and James…they were just right really. The way they were together spoke for itself. Plus James wouldn't ever give Mindy up anyway and at some point, one would think Cooper would finally accept that.

"What's THAT word Oxa?" Thorn pointed to one of the articles and looked at the Serval expectantly. "What is it?"

Oxa just stared at her.

Thorn sighed and pointed to the page more. "Turn the page then if you don't want to read this one. Com on, turn it!"

The look on Oxa's face said "Are you serious right now?"

"I don't think she can do it," Scarlett pointed out. "She don't know how."

Thorn pouted her lips and grabbed on to Oxa's paw. "Well I'll TEACH her then!"

Amber rolled her eyes at her younger sister's ridiculous nature and then looked at Cooper, her catching on to how depressed she was. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Taylor said quickly. "I'm fine."

Amber wasn't convinced of course. She knew better than that. "He's not worth it," she said as she put the magazine down and climbed on to Taylor's lap. "He's really not. If he's going to act like that you shouldn't waste your time with him. You're better than that."

Taylor smiled weakly. "I wish it was that easy. But I can't just make my feelings for him go away."

"Well that SUCKS," Scarlett declared. She stopped playing with Taylor's hair and gave her a serious look. "You need another boy. A nice boy that will be nice and give you pretty things like clothes and jewelry-'

"And who will treat you with respect," Amber said with a nod. "Because that's what's important."

"But not as important as clothes and jewelry," Scarlett snipped.

"Come on Oxa, that's it! Turn the page! Come on, you can do it!"

Taylor put her hand over her mouth as Oxa continued to stare at Thorn like she was insane. She was trying to keep a straight face but on the inside she was dying laughing.

Scarlett turned her head to the side so the were looking eye to eye. "I'll find you a new boy. A good one that won't be obsessed with my mommy."

"I appreciate the offer I do but-"

"No buts. You're getting a new boy now deal with it." And that was the end of that conversation.

…

Chelsea was busy watching TV with Stickers and Elizabeth was sleeping with Lammy as James and Mindy were busy kissing. Their hands were weaving through each other's hair and the only time they dared to stop even for a second was to take a quick gasp of air. They had already lost track of time and they weren't looking to find it any time soon.

James took her hand and laced his fingers with hers, his eyes drifting towards her rings. She wore both her wedding and engagement rings and they took up almost all of her little finger. He loved the way they sparkled in the light and all of a sudden, they gave him an idea that was just brilliant. "Baby Doll…" James reluctantly stopped with the kissing so he could speak.

"Yeah Jamie?" Mindy asked, pouting her lower lip slightly. She hadn't been done with the kissing yet

He took a deep breath and squeezed her hand gently. "I love you more than I've ever loved anyone ever…words can't even begin to do my feelings justice." He rubbed his nose against hers and brushed his thumb over her cheek. "And since we're done with all the fighting and all the letting things come between us, I want to get re-married so-"

He didn't have to finish that sentence. She just burst into tears and kissed him hard and he took that as a yes.


	50. Chapter 50

**Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you! **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: I gotta agree with you there. His behavior is never under control because for whatever reason, he refuses to freaking get it. He loses to James when it comes to Mindy. If James wasn't in the picture then Cooper would be set. It would work. But James IS in the picture and he needs to accept defeat and move on. **jadeMK11**: As of now they clearly haven't talked about that. That's going to be remained to be seen.

…

It took more rehabilitating, surgeries for Mindy, and transplants than James ever wanted to think about until she finally could come home. James had been shadowing her literally every two seconds and Cooper clearly was allowed nowhere near Mrs. James Lawson. In fact, James had been contacting with the staff Mindy had in Malibu to get the house ready for Aiden's impending birth. His due date wasn't for another few months, but James knew his wife better. Her body could never take a nine-month pregnancy she would die. Her stomach had gotten much bigger from Aiden growing inside her and her overall appearance thanks to more cosmetic surgery and transplants had looked much healthier. Her hair had been replaced YET again by a donor and now she was hanging all over James. Still stunned they were moving, Mindy had to say goodbye to Cotton and Spade since James transferred them to the dollhouse stable in Malibu. She couldn't ride while she was pregnant anyway.

…

Lingering in the doorway as James played bartender and brought Mindy out a virgin strawberry daiquiri, Cooper scowled as her head in oversize white-framed sunglasses turned to face him from her spot sitting in the hot tub and lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Oh JAMIE! You SHOULDN'T have!" grinning she waited for him to kiss her and he did, he kissed her deeply and they snuggled the other until she pulled on the waistband of his black swim trunks and he took the cue to sit in the hot tub with her. She moved right onto his lap and his hands traveled all over her tiny body, clearly yearning for something they hadn't done in a while…something he vowed to do every day at their wedding.

At their rewedding in Aruba he would have to renew that vow so it became active again. For now his hands slipped under her little pink string bikini one at a time and kneaded her breasts. Her lips rose to cover his and they were making out already. So much for making her a drink. Sniffling Mindy arched her back so their kisses could be deeper as he trickled his fingers through her hair and slid his hands over her belly.

"I love you Baby Doll…" nuzzling their faces together, they kissed and snuggled to the point that Cooper wanted to be sick. James completely made her into his sex toy. That was all he did with her. Even though they hadn't done the deed in what for them could be considered ages, there was obnoxious other shit going on. He sat her near the kitchen sink yesterday and ate her out. He was disgusting; at forty-six years old truly disgusting. He had KIDS who were constantly around and his wife was pregnant. Pregnant as in his old ass knocked her up AGAIN because he couldn't keep it in his pants and needed to constantly be banging something like a rabbit. Maybe if he got James fixed there would be no more of this, just castrate him. That would actually be funny, so see what it would do to James' life if his balls got cut off. No more Baby Doll that was for shit sure.

His fingers had traveled under the bottom of her bikini and began to rub in large lazy circles, causing Mindy to whimper and suck on his neck as he gradually slid the fingers inside her and she moaned. He was FINGERING her after she had been constantly RAPED. What the HELL was that all about? Seething, Cooper almost went out there and ripped him away from her. She was only pretending to like it. His hands moved harder into her and her hands immediately worked on his swim trunks, pulling his cock out and stroking it as hard as she could.

"Yes, Baby Doll mm yes…" James moaned as she stroked him, bucking into her hand and fingering her harder yet.

"Mmm I want to be fucked Jamie" nodding happily she rode his fingers harder and he moaned before kissing her neck and nodding.

"I want to fuck you too" he grunted, "feel that tight wet pussy squeezing my cock"

"I want you to fuck me James, I do…"

Their mouths latched together as they finished the other off accordingly and Cooper slinked back into the house to shake his head. They were disgusting. James made her his whore.

Taylor had been sitting on the floor playing with the kids while Elizabeth napped up in her room. She knew James and Mindy were off doing whatever it was they did and her only job in the world was to babysit, it would be the only job she ever had and she lived her life for free. It was beyond an excellent tradeoff. She babysits her idol's children every day and is a pampered princess the rest of her life. It worked. She loved the kids, they loved her, and the bond between her and Mindy had grown crazy. She loved the shit out of her. Even if Cooper wouldn't stop pining over her she LOVED Mindy. Mindy was just a phenomenal person even if she was a bit bitchy, it was a part of her charm. Men LOVED the bitch in her; even James had gone bonkers for it.

She didn't notice as they played team Candyland that Cooper was watching them from the corner of the room, not saying a word.

"I hate this game" Scarlett scoffed and shook her head while holding Chelsea close, sighing and yawning when Chelsea moved their little yellow man to the blue space.

"I like it" Amber shrugged and moved her blue man to the lollipop forest, "It's all a matter of preference-"

"YOU" Taylor's eyes widened and she giggled looking at Amber, "YOU like this game?"

"Yeah…" furrowing her brow Amber giggled lightly, "Why?"

"No, it's just…" Taylor shook her head and shrugged, "I never would have pegged YOU to be someone who enjoys this game with YOUR intellect"

"Well what did you think I liked to play?" her eyebrow rose, "Monopoly?"

Taylor gave her a look that was a little blank and Amber could only take a deep breath and sigh.

"I'll take two-hundred past go and no free parking."

…

After the game when everyone tried clearing out of the room, Cooper hadn't moved and the moment Taylor tried to leave the room last Cooper blocked her way of leaving. Normally she would be fighting with everything in her to stay and speak to him for maybe even a minute, but something stronger inside her said no. Maybe it was the Scarlett in the back of her mind, but Taylor stopped entirely and had put her foot down.

"Move" was all she said, and it was said very coldly, though Cooper was stunned more than anything else, "you heard me…move."

"Why?" he shrugged and folded his arms across his chest, eyeballing her pitifully thin frame when she rolled her eyes and sneered, "you've got nothing but time for me"

"Not any-MORE!" oh Scarlett that little bitch. In she sauntered wearing a tiara, sunglasses, and pearls which belonged to her mother, "TAYLOR has had ENOUGH!"

"Uh…" turning eight shades of red Taylor cringed, "Scarlett-"

"Do not 'SCAR-lett' ME!" shaking her head she hugged Taylor's leg and scowled at him, "YOU are a DICK and Taylor deserves BETTER than you! GOODBYE!"

With that she snagged Taylor's arm and stamped out of the room with her. Cooper had to pinch himself to believe that just happened.

…

James and Mindy had themselves confined to their bedroom with each and every light out, but the TV was on. Mindy had been watching a video of her pre-pregnant self sharing a stage with Lady Gaga. The way she was once able to dance and move her body was the root of all envy among talents young and old. Not only were most of the acrobatic dancing moves handed to Mindy, but each and every possibly operatic part was given to Mindy and she just brought it to heights which producers wouldn't ever have thought been possible. Nostalgia for that old body of hers did settle in. Instead she had a big pregnant belly which Aiden was incubating in.

James had his head situated on her belly and was gently petting the lower part of the baby bump so he could feel his son kick his hand and smile softly. He hadn't been speaking or concentrating on anything other than his baby growing inside of his wife. He was so excited words couldn't do it justice and he was just so overwhelmed with love for the both of them. Baby Doll went without words; he couldn't keep his eyes or hands anywhere but on her body. The way she would respond to him, buck her hips when he got anywhere near her inner thighs, kiss him whenever his mouth was in reach…every moment of every day he feel harder for her if that were even possible.

Noticing the way he was entranced by the baby bump, Mindy shut the TV and pet his hair just watching him nuzzle his unborn son and kiss the skin.

"Jamie…" smiling softly she pet his hair, "I love you."

"Baby Doll" grinning he sat up and pressed his lips to hers, keeping the hand on her lower abdomen as they made out and lowered his body on top of hers and slightly spread her legs. Seven months pregnant and they still hadn't had sex in too long for James to remember. He was scared to, considering how badly she'd been raped and mutilated, but the moment his groin touched her soft wet flesh his cock was so hard it hurt. They needed to have sex but he was scared. Instead he pulled his cock out and rubbed it against her wetness, which made her moan happily and he nodded. "You like that, Baby Doll, huh?" nodding he grinded against her harder, "How does that feel, Baby Doll? You like being rubbed like this, Baby Doll?"

Moaning she nodded and rubbed against his bare erection as well, loving how he thrust his hips as if he were going to have sex with her. She wanted him to but he wouldn't for some reason. She had begged him to, but he just wouldn't.

"Baby Doll…" moaning James kissed her on the lips and nuzzled her neck, "I love you Baby Doll…"

She said nothing but kissed him back, James resuming their dry-humping when there was a knock so faint on that they had no fair way to hear it, and in Cooper came with Elizabeth though his parents still didn't notice.

He watched for a moment before clearing his throat, "Is this a bad time?"

Temporarily flashing her eyes away from James, Mindy spotted Cooper and screamed. James immediately scowled and moved the sheets further over her naked body.

"Don't you KNOCK?" he hissed, and Cooper reluctantly looked at them before leaving. James was so angry all he could do was shake his head in distaste. If Cooper put one more TOE out of line he was dead.

…

Mindy's water broke at seven months, and she shrieked and screamed from pain as James rushed her to the hospital to make sure it wasn't another placental abruption. Lucky for him it wasn't, but Aiden clearly was going to be needed to be cut out. All Mindy's kids were delivered via c-section. She whimpered, cried, and James held her hand stamping around behind doctors screaming at them on how to do their jobs right and how they were all wrong everything was wrong because his Baby Doll was in pain and their baby wasn't out yet.

Aiden did arrive completely clean and absolutely perfect-looking…too perfect looking. Mindy was nearly passed out from being doped as they stitched her up and James' eyes widened in astonishment as the infant was placed on her chest.

"Name?" a nurse with a clipboard asked immediately.

"Aiden" Mindy nodded weakly at the nurse, "Aiden James."


	51. Chapter 51

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: She is isn't she? Such a little priss yet she was still so badass there. Take that Cooper. **jadeMK11**: Oh yeah, the hypocrisy in Cooper is just astounding. Boy needs a reality check in the worst way. **Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

"Look at him Jamie," Mindy said happily. "He's so perfect."

James smiled and nuzzled the side of her face. He was sitting in a chair, his wife on his lap and their newborn son in his arms. It had taken Tryg pointing it out that Elizabeth looked like him but with Aiden it was more than obvious who he took after. Unlike Mindy's other children Aiden had not been born with blonde hair and blue eyes. His hair and eyes were clearly James and while Mindy had fallen absolutely in love with him James was just gawking. He had fallen in love too, there was no doubt about that, but the kid looked JUST like him. It wasn't even a resemblance. He was holding himself as a tiny tiny baby and it just felt absolutely surreal.

"You know…there might be a couple baby pictures of me that Grandma took buried up in the attic. If we found them and compared them to him, I don't think we would be able to tell the difference."

"Awww Jamie." Mindy nestled her head under his chin and kept staring at Aiden lovingly. "Daddy's mommy or Mommy's mommy?" He never ever really mentioned his grandparents. She knew all about Joseph and Caroline and knew how much they hated their on families so it wasn't surprising that he didn't talk much about them. It wasn't like he knew them or anything.

"Joseph's." He never referred to his father as such. When he was a kid he hadn't even done it. He refused to acknowledge that relation. "Grandpa and Grandma Keisner kicked the bucket when I was like…six months old. Car accident-or at least that's what I was told. I'm pretty sure Caroline offed them though."

She would. "Was Grandma Lawson nice?" Mindy asked as she tilted her head up to look at him.

He shrugged. "She was alright. Her and grandpa lived with us sometimes. Grandpa was a fucking lunatic that beat her and shit and terrorized my aunts and uncles and all that…I was happy when I killed him."

"What happened to Grandma then?"

"…She wanted to die so I killed her too." James adjusted his grip on Aiden and rested his forehead against Mindy's. "She was tired of life so yeah…"

"How old were you?"

"Eight. Second and third kill right now."

"The first was a homeless man," she said with a nod. He had told her about that already.

"Mhm." He kissed her and then rubbed the tip of his nose against hers. "I love you."

"I love you more," she replied. She looked at Aiden and smiled as he yawned. "Oh Jamie I want to hold him again."

James happily handed him off to her and she started cooing at him, absolutely delighted with the mere sight of him. James couldn't help but let a huge grin cross his face as he rested his chin on her shoulder. Being with Mindy was a thrill that never got old and on top of that they had the joy of Aiden now being with them. It really did thrill him beyond any definition although he was thinking that if and when Mindy got pregnant again, they needed an easier pregnancy. With Elizabeth there was the drama of Mark and Glen and him going to jail for murder and the placental abruption and with Aiden there had been…well he tried not to even think about that. Neither one of them knew the man's name still and they didn't care to ever find out. James had killed him and that had been that. Neither one of them wanted to think about what had happened during that awful time if they could help it.

Aiden started to fuss and Mindy shook her head and cooed at him. "Sssh Aiden Mommy and Daddy are right here." She kissed Aiden's forehead and kept talking to him and he settled back down rather quickly. "That's my good boy."

James wrapped both of his arms around Mindy tightly, falling in love with her all over again right at that moment. His own mother hadn't been able to stand the sight of him and he knew damn well she had never held him when he had been a baby. Grandma Lawson and the series of nannies that had tried to endure Caroline and Joseph's bullshit had gotten him through infancy but they hadn't loved him. They hadn't been what he needed. With every child he did have he vowed to give them what he never got but now with Aiden it really felt like he was looking at himself all over again. It was surreal really.

Mindy smiled and held one of Aiden's tiny hands between two of her own bitty fingers. "He's so perfect." She had said that quite a bit already but it was worth repeating. Some people say that all babies look alike really but they could all kiss her ass if they even tried to say that shit to her. Aiden was already a carbon copy of his daddy, even more so than Elizabeth and that was what she wanted. She didn't want her children to be like her, not ever. She hated herself she wouldn't ever want that for them. "Jamie? Do you have any of your old clothes from when you were a baby?"

"Somewhere I'm sure I do," James said with a nod. Mindy was handing Aiden back off to him so daddy and son could have more bonding time. Aiden had his tiny fist up to his mouth and he had drifted off to sleep. It was so precious that James held him more tightly and kissed his forehead. "Hey buddy." He was cooing at his son now without even really realizing he was going to start. "Good grief, that new uterus Mommy got put in must have been a cloning machine in disguise."

Mindy giggled loudly at that. "He came from YOU Jamie darling. My uterus had nothing to do with it."

"Me thinks it does," James insisted, He pulled her closer to him and nodded at Aiden. "When we get home you're going to have a lot of big sisters to play with. And there's your big brother Connor too but you two won't get to play because he can't play with babies. He's not careful enough oh no he's not. And then there's Oxa and Cotton and Spade and Snoopy and Spike…Daddy likes to throw things at Spike and scare him because he's so stupid. I taught your big sister Lizzie how to do it and I'll teach you too." He kept going on like that, just babbling about anything and everything really. Mindy was quiet as a mouse the entire time, just letting James carry on as much as he want. Eventually he did have to stop to take a breath and as he did he gave Mindy the biggest kiss he could and then nuzzled her neck happily.

…

"Okay…who put the rocket up her ass?" Taylor asked to nobody in particular as she followed Elizabeth all around. She had been helping Elizabeth walk around and also letting her try to walk on her own. There had been some success in that department but Elizabeth apparently was opting for speed today so she had resorted to crawling all around, fully intending on making life as difficult as possible for Taylor. Now normally Taylor didn't mind following her around but on top of not staying still, Elizabeth was pushing shit over and throwing stuff all around. And every time Taylor tried to pick her up and distract her with something else, she would fuss and cry and throw a fit until she was allowed to do what she wanted again.

Amber shook her head and stepped in front of Elizabeth, trying to slow her down so Taylor could get a little bit of a break. "Come here Lizzie!"

"NO NO NO!" Elizabeth went around Amber and started going towards Mallow Mars, who immediately tried to head for the hills. Getting grabbed by Chelsea was more than enough for all the cats. None of them were really looking to add having to watch out for Lizzie as well. Of course, Elizabeth herself didn't take the retreating kitty very well. "MINE! MINE MINE MINE!"

"Oh dear…" Taylor scooped Elizabeth into her arms and tried to distract her with Lammy. "Here honey. Look at Lammy! Lammy wants to play yes he does…"

"MINE!" Elizabeth hugged Lammy's neck and then looked at Mallow Mars, who had taken refuge under the table. "MINE!"

"Is that all she can say now?" Thorn asked. She had come in from the living room, where she and Scarlett had been with Chelsea. She had been watching TV with Chelsea while Scarlett had been making plans for Taylor that the older girl had no idea they were even going to take place.

"I think it's all she likes to say," Amber said with a shrug. "She's in that selfish stage now." She reached up and tickled Elizabeth under her chin. "Aren't you Lizzie Bear?"

Elizabeth, clearly copying James whenever she put her fingers up to his mouth, grabbed Amber's hand and started nomming on them.

"Lizzie!" Amber pulled her hand away and quickly wiped her hand.

"That's DISGUSTING!" Thorn said as she wrinkled her nose.

Elizabeth cooed and started nomming on Lammy's face.

"Taylor, when are we going to go see Mommy and Daddy and Aiden?" Thorn asked. That was what she was originally going to ask when she had come in here.

"We're going after lunch," Taylor promised. "If Lizzie settles down long enough for me to feed you all…"

"Where is Cooper in all of this?" Amber asked crossly. "He's supposed to be helping."

"He's watching Connor," Thorn said.

"No, he's being MEAN!" Connor burst in through the door, his shirt all ripped up and blood coming from the corner of his mouth. "He's being MEAN and I HATE him!"

"For today?" Amber guessed.

Taylor's eyes widened at the sight of Connor. "What happened to you?"

"Well…" Connor took a deep breath and tested out his truly dramatic skills. "He was SUPPOSED to be building a fort with me. But all he kept doing was BITCHING about Daddy and I told him to stop over and over and over again. And he wouldn't stop so I told him to shut up and then he got MEAN and HIT me so I took a rock and SMASHED it against his face!"

"You did WHAT?" Taylor's eyes really did just about pop out of her head.

"Oh crap." Amber was already looking for Hurricane Cooper, who was surely going to be coming this way.

"High five!" Thorn was at least happy, mostly because as much as she didn't like Connor, Cooper was becoming even more of an asshole as the days went on.

Without even thinking about it Connor high fived her. Two seconds later they realized what they had done and gave each other very dirty looks. Obviously they were going to pretend that never just happened.

"CONNOR! CONNOR YOU LITTLE BASTARD!"

"Fuck!" Connor scooped Snoopy into his arms and took off running. Spike hid under the table as Cooper came tearing after Connor at top speed. Taylor handed Elizabeth to Amber and went after Cooper, only because she figured James would really not appreciate it if Connor got slaughtered. Amber shook her head and tried to keep her head back so Elizabeth wouldn't nom on her nose. She loved her sister but getting her spit on her face wasn't on her agenda today. "We're more adult than those two are Lizzie."

"I have to go wash my hand," Thorn announced, already taking off for the nearest sink.

"Yeah because we don't know where CONNOR has been!"

"SHUT UP!"

"Hey!" In came Scarlett and while still rocking the tiara, she had stolen one of James's dress shirts and was now wearing it as a dress. How she was not tripping over it Amber didn't know. "Where's Taylor?"

"Playing peacemaker with Connor and Cooper," Amber replied. "Connor hit Cooper in the face with a rock."

"Well GET her! It's time to play the game."

"What game?"

Scarlett straightened herself up and got a really proud look on her face. "Scarlett Lawson's Dating Game."

Amber just stared at her incredulously until she realized that she was completely serious. She slowly shook her head and just carried Lizzie into the living room so they could go join Chelsea. "Ridiculous. She's ridiculous Lizzie."

Elizabeth just threw her head back and screamed for her own amusement before happily chewing on Lammy's face.

"…And so are you."


	52. Chapter 52

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Oh yeah. You really do. **jadeMK11**: No it won't. Cooper's an ass like that. **Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

Coming home to Malibu was strange. Mindy had been so used to pulling up to the desert house, but now they were FINALLY home the way she saw it. Her pink Malibu mansion or 'Barbie Dream House' as it was often labeled was her absolute favorite place to live. It was what she had been used to calling home, and the desert had been a rough move for her family because they had never lived in such a scorching environment before. She really had no way with James' house either, so the style which it was really wasn't her favorite by any means. Then again he was a guy, he had little to no taste in homes, though considering he allegedly was half-gay he should have had SOME level of taste. The Malibu mansion on the other hand was completely designed by gay men, so of course it was beyond elegant and tasteful. She was willing to live wherever James wanted to without complaining, but now that she was truly at HER home she could feel more comfortable about where they were. Nobody she cared about died in the house, she knew the place, and absolutely lived for the beach.

Aiden was asleep in his little carrier and Mindy had actually removed him so they could walk together into the mansion with James right on her heels, practically tripping over himself to ensure the little blue cap stood over Aiden's head with slightly wispy dark brown hair and dark eyes. He was such a spitting image of his father it wasn't even funny. And he was beginning to take after him already, he wore blue footed pajamas and his baby blanket was wrapped tight around his body. His mouth was open so he could make small cooing noises and for every sound he made, Mommy would melt entirely and kiss him. He was learning to give kisses back already, already showing Daddy a bit of an Oedipal complex but he didn't care.

"And looky HERE, Aiden!" giggling Mindy moved towards the kitchen windows so he could get a great look at the private beach and the Pacific waves which rolled forwards, "See the WATER, baby? See the WATER?"

Aiden stuck his fist in his mouth and cooed, leaning for another kiss and of course Mommy obliged. James was keeping his neck nestled in Mindy's neck, kissing her neck slowly as she held Aiden.

"I think he's gonna like it here…" smiling and rubbing noses with his infant son he leaned in and kissed his little nose, grinning at the smile which spread across Aiden's face and the way he just flopped onto her shoulder like a lovesick puppy.

"Oh?" giggling she raised an eyebrow and patted Aiden's back so he could burp while staring at James' face, just admiring how he looked exactly like his little son. Elizabeth had looked like him too, but Aiden was just ridiculous. He truly was his father's son which is why he got his middle name to be James. He was James reincarnated. "And what about YOU, Jamie? If he is anything like YOU he will love the desert"

"I love YOU" kissing her lips and stroking the hollow of her throat he nuzzled her neck and smiled weakly, "YOU are home to me. Wherever you are happy makes me-"

"Oh, but Jamie!" sighing she shook her head and kissed him, "I know you love the desert I know you do!"

"I love whatever YOU" he poked her nose and smiled as she bit at the finger, "do."

"But we are so opposite" her finger trailed down his lips and they kissed, "Are you SURE you want to do this?"

"Baby Doll…" petting her face he glanced around them as the girls ran around chasing each other on the sand with the pets and Taylor held Elizabeth by the water, "I'm one-hundred-and FIFTY percent sure I want to do this. I love YOU. If you wanted to come back here you should have asked-"

"You own me" she said that very very serious, "I have no say in what you do with me and where we go, Jamie. That is all you. You are my conservator you could sell everything I own from under me without me being able to do anything about it. I am a piece of property now you know that"

"Not true" shaking his head he kissed the side of hers and frowned, "I don't own you, Baby Doll"

"YES James…" hugging Aiden close to her she frowned, "you DO."

"Baby Doll, no" James shook his head and nuzzled her neck before kissing her deeply, "I don't own anything you're my equal…that paper means nothing"

She opened her mouth to argue, but stopped. Something made her stop. Yes, she was right, but that would be a fight she didn't want to have. She loved James so deeply they had made a pact to stop fighting.

"Baby Doll…" stroking her cheek he made her look him in the eye and smiled as her eyes widened. She always did that when someone instructed her to listen, made her eyes get really big and nearly pop out of her head. "We're going away…"

"Away?" pouting her lips she hugged Aiden close and shook her head, "Jamie darling, why?"

"Because you've been through WAY too much to just get right back in the swing of things"

"But we just had a BABY!" shaking her head she clutched Aiden close and the baby immediately clung to his mother as if she were being taken from him.

"And he'll be here when we get back" smiling gently James pet the top of his head and kissed him fondly, just gazing at his baby before kissing him more and nomming on his cheek quick.

"How long will we be gone?" already anxiety was kicking in so he kissed her smoothly and shook his head.

"Two weeks, Baby Doll, don't worry about it" nuzzling her neck he kissed her slowly and waited for her to finally give in and nod, "We'll have fun, you know we will. Maybe we can…" he shrugged, "you know…get remarried on the beach, just the two of us"

"Where are we going darling?"

…

They boarded a plane bound for Aruba, a small tropical island near South America. When Mindy was a WWF Diva she had gone to a resort which she absolutely adored and it was called the Tamarijn.

Ten hours worth of flight they had literally bought a puzzle book and were playing stupid little games the entire plane ride. They had to make a stopover in Miami since there was no direct flight to Aruba, and at the airport they had bought ice cream and just killed time until it was time for their next flight to board. They flew first class, James not wanting to bother with taking his private jet internationally. So many regulations were in place and he didn't feel like dealing with it.

On the plane Mindy decided she wanted vodka to calm her headache, and the flight attendant thought she was insane but went along with it anyway because of the look James was giving her. To try and somewhat identify with her, James also ordered vodka on the rocks. Mindy wasn't particular, she just wanted alcohol and she'd be damned if anyone got in her way.

"Baby Doll" shaking his head at the crossword puzzle they were trying to complete James shook his head and groaned, "I REALLY don't think that's how its spelled"

"It IS" she was trying to fit the word, 'brackolee.' That clearly wasn't right.

"Okay" he nodded and kissed her, "Whatever you say, Baby Doll"

He filled in the crossword puzzle with that exact word.

Eventually she fell asleep on his shoulder and he just watched her do so, pulling down the shade on the window so the sun wouldn't be irritating her eyes as she tried to sleep. She was so beautiful. She never saw it, but she was such a beautiful woman. The setting sun had given her skin a deep golden glow and slight reds from her natural brown color shone through her lengthy raven hair. He kissed the top of her head and just held her for the remainder of the plane ride.

…

Upon arriving at the airport they had to go through Aruban customs, which really wasn't all that intense because it wasn't the United States. The airport was clean, mostly all of the passengers were tourists, and paparazzi barriers had to be set up because this was Mindy Stratus' flight. People swamped the airport and Mindy growled while making her way through the airport. Considering everything that had recently happened people were throwing questions at her left and right when a stretch limousine picked them up outside the airport and brought them to the resort, which was nothing short of gorgeous. From Mindy's chatter on the plane James knew the place they booked was going to be pretty, but pretty was an understatement. Aruba was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. The lobby was half-outdoor half-indoor with blue chairs and multicolored tiles lining the front desk, the heavy Aruban breeze blowing the palm trees everywhere. The resort included nine restaurants, three gigantic pools, and so many different side features Mindy would be entertained with James all day, but first and foremost they were jet-lagged. Ten hour flights were tough and they both barely could stand up.

They were led to their deluxe celebrity suite, which was on the second floor of one of the buildings and absolutely beautiful. It was air-conditioned with a spacious balcony providing a spectacular ocean view. They had a large flat-screen television, hair dryer, iron, ironing board, fridge, AM/FM alarm clock radio, telephone, one king bed, private bath and shower; 110 volts electric current, constant maid service, and though James had wanted to explore the resort Mindy clearly wanted to sleep. She was weary from travel and he kind of had no choice but to go to the room and sleep. Maybe they would explore the resort tomorrow if he could get her out of the bed.

Closing the door behind them he lifted her into the air and carried her into the marbled bathroom just to see how spectacular it was.

"See, Baby Doll?" smiling James checked their reflection in the mirror and nuzzled Mindy's head because she was too tired to function, but he at least wanted her to see the room.

"Very nice Jamie" she nodded with a big yawn.

"Come here" he was really excited about this and clearly was being very cute, so she wanted him to lie down with her and go to sleep so they could start to have fun the next day. Opening the thick curtains he pulled open the sliding glass door and headed outside onto their balcony, the wind whipping around their hair and he grabbed her face, not even looking at the ocean because he wanted to kiss her. She was so beautiful and eagerly she had kissed him right back, they could kiss for hours like this. It was beyond warm outside but cooled by the constant Aruban breeze which never ceased, so it didn't FEEL hot. They were heating up though. James opened his mouth and slipped his tongue into her mouth, sitting her on a railing and holding onto her so her arms could hook around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"James…" petting his face and sighing lightly they kissed harder. His clothes were fine in the airport, but they were becoming a bit of a nuisance now and he wanted them off. Baby Doll giggled and slid her hands under his shirt and over his hard abs, which sent all sorts of tingles and sensations when she ripped the shirt over his head and grabbed his butt before running right back inside the room.

"HEY!" laughing he slid open the door to see there she was, jumping on the bed and spinning around like a little girl.


	53. Chapter 53

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: I know right? They can be soooo cute it's not even funny. **Esha Napoleon** and** cathy**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: They've definitely had more than enough bad things happening to them to last a life time. Last thing they need is more. Hopefully this trip will help them and not be the calm before another storm.

…

"Baby Doll…" James drew out her name as he approached the bed. She was still jumping around on the bed and she was giggling now too, which just made him grin as much as he was capable of doing it. "Whatya think you're doin'?"

"Jumping," she replied with a giggle. She stopped jumping and poked her tongue between her teeth. He absolutely loved it when she did that. It was just so cute that it made him fall in love with her on the spot every time she did it. "You wanna jump Jamie?"

"I think I'm a little big to be jumping on beds Baby Doll. I might break it." He stepped right up to the bed, still taller than her even though she had the bed giving her some additional height. "And if this bed is going to be broken, I'd rather do it in a different way."

Mindy giggled loudly at that and pounced on him. He easily caught her and his lips were on hers the moment his arms were around her. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she was already grinding up against him, which made him hard in a matter of seconds. He grinded back up against her, sliding his tongue into her mouth when she moaned. Anyone staying in a room near them was going to absolutely hate them by the time this vacation was said and done. It had been too long since they had even had sex and this was going to be their opportunity to make up some of the time they had lost. Some said they were really obnoxious and gross but even when they were fucking just to fuck it meant something to him. It brought him closer to her (emotionally speaking) and it didn't matter what was going on around them or what was going to happen later on. There was just them, him and her, the woman he was absolutely devoted to. She tamed him, sated him, had him completely whipped and he couldn't be happier. There was love and then there was what they had.

He climbed on to the bed with her and laid her down, his lips traveling from hers and going down to her throat. His hands were roaming underneath her shirt, his fingertips tickling her side and making her giggle and writhe underneath him. "Jamie!

"Must get rid of this…" James made quick work of her shirt and long billowy skirt she had on. That left her in her red bra and panties and he had to take a moment to admire the sight of her. She wore red a lot because she knew he liked it. "Oh fuck Baby Doll."

"More doing, less staring," she said as she pulled his head back up for a kiss. He returned it eagerly, his hands removing her bra from the equation as he did so. His cock was absolutely begging to be released from his jeans but he was much too focused on her at the moment to oblige it. He was too focused on kissing her, going from her lips to her throat once more and then down to her breasts. He teased her nipples into hardened little nubs, relishing in the little moans and whimpers she was letting out before kissing his way down further. Her hands were in his hair already and she was pushing his head down lower.

"Are you wet for me Baby Doll?" Pointless question really. He knew the answer already. He grabbed her panties with his teeth and took them off of her. She was already trying to arch herself up towards his mouth and he quickly swiped his tongue across her pussy, tasting just how wet she was already for him.

"Jamie!" She arched her hips up and held his head to her tightly. "Jamie Jamie Jamie!"

He chuckled and did it again, nibbling and sucking on clit before sliding his tongue into her. Her legs were wrapped around his head and her hands were firmly planted in his hair. He was licking her fast and deep, his hands working on ditching his jeans and boxers as he did so. His cock was getting harder and harder at her taste and the sounds of her moans. He moved his tongue deeper and faster, his fingers rubbing her clit until she came hard. He lapped up her juices and then replaced his tongue with two of his fingers. Usually he liked spending quite awhile just licking her and getting her to cum over and over and over again, but tonight his cock was so hard that extended foreplay just couldn't be done.

"Mmm Jamie," Mindy moaned as he slipped a third finger into her. She was moving back against his fingers eagerly, gasping when he started rubbing her walls. "Fuck me Jamie I need your cock."

James kissed her hard, removing his fingers and rubbing his cock all along her wet core before slowly pushing into her. Immediately her walls were tightly closed around him in a vice grip and they both moaned loudly. "I love you Baby Doll," he said, kissing her and giving them both a minute to adjust. She needed it for his size and he just needed it so he didn't cum too soon. It really had been too long and the feeling of her back around his cock was just too good.

"I love you more," she shot back. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and her arms were around his neck, kissing him deeper than ever.

"I love YOU more," he claimed. He started thrusting slowly, the tip of his nose rubbing against hers before he kissed her yet again.

She shook her head and deepened the kiss. "No, I love YOU more James. I love you the most I do."

His response was to keep kissing her and thrust a bit faster. Usually when they had sex it was filled with all kinds of dirty talk that would make almost anyone else blush but not tonight. Between the kissing and the "I love yous" that started back up when they had to catch their breaths between the kisses there wasn't a place for it.

"James," Mindy moaned as one of his hands reached down to start rubbing her clit. His mouth was attached to her neck, sucking on the pale flesh and leaving a nice long trail of hickeys behind. "James James yes I love you James!"

"Baby Doll!" Her walls tightened around his cock and he came about the same time as her, his lips capturing hers for yet another kiss and his forehead resting against hers.

…

They made love again before falling to sleep that night and James was the first one awake the next day. It was one in the afternoon when he first opened his eyes and it took him another twenty minutes to even want to begin to move because he was just too comfortable. Mindy was snuggled up next to him and he smiled as he watched her sleep. He watched over her as she slept even more than he did Elizabeth and Aiden. Getting her up wasn't the easiest of jobs because she didn't like to do it. If he gave her a choice she would easily stay in bed at least another couple of hours.

"Baby Doll…" He gently kissed her neck and ran his hands up and down her body. "It's time to get up Baby Doll."

Mindy just buried her face more into the pillow. He shook his head and started pulling the blankets off of her. "Rise and shine my darling Baby Doll."

"No," she grumped. Her Canadian accent was coming out big time and he grinned at it.

"No? You don't want to get up and go have some fun?"

"Later." Without opening her eyes she tried to reach back and push him back into laying down. "Sleep now."

"Aw but Baby Doll, what if I really really want you to get up?" His hand was drifting down between her legs and she already was rubbing back against him eagerly. "I mean, we didn't get to look around or anything when we got here." He rubbed her clit with his thumb, making her gasp and grind against his hand more. "We should do something about that shouldn't we."

"Maybe you need to convince me," Mindy said innocently.

"Oh do I? Hmm…how can I do that?" James kissed her neck and slid his fingers into her. She moaned and rode them hard as he kissed her neck harder. "Is this the way Baby Doll?"

"More."

"More?" He slid another finger into her and pumped them faster, nearly getting head butted in the face because of how she threw her head back. "How about now?"

"Mmmmm….more! And you have to carry me."

"Carry you?"

"Mhm."

"Deal." His cock quickly replaced his fingers and she let out a long, happy moan.

…

"Okay…we ready?" They were dressed finally although Mindy was still in bed, giggling at him and bouncing on her butt.

"That depends," she replied. She held out her arms and bounced even more. "Are you ready Jamie?"

He grinned. When he had made the deal he had intended on just carrying her normally. But now, in the heat of this moment, he was feeling quite mischievous. "Oh I am." Instead of carrying her in the wedding carry like she was looking for he put her over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. "I'm extremely ready."

"Jamie!" Mindy shook her head and tried to move herself to where she actually wanted to be. "No fair Jamie! You said you would carry me!"

"I AM carrying you Baby Doll," James pointed out gleefully. "You said carry you, I'm carrying you. It's not my fault you didn't say how you wanted to be carried."

"Oh you…" Mindy reached down and smacked his ass as hard as she could.

"Hey now…no hitting the carriers." He smacked her butt in return which got him yet another smack from her. "Hey!"

"I didn't do it," Mindy claimed all too innocently. "The spanking fairy did it."

"The spanking fairy? Oh dear. Well you tell that spanking fairy only you are allowed to do that to me."

"HA! You gave me permission!" She smacked his ass yet again. "That's a point for me and you got na-WAHH!" He goosed her mid-sentence and she just about launched herself out of his grasp. "JAMIE!"

"Whoops, did I do that?" He set her back on her own two feet and kissed her.

"You're going to get it Jamie Paul."

"Oooh. That sounds like it's going to be sexy." He flashed his most charming smile and swept her off her feet like she originally wanted him to do. "But until I get it, I'm your official tour guide." He kissed her as he headed out the door.

She giggled and nestled her head against him. "You've never even been here Jamie darling."

"So? I'm Jamie and I am tour guide."

"Okay." She kissed him and looked at him expectantly. "Then where are we going first then?"

"First…oh…let's get lunch first." His stomach conveniently growled really loudly as he said that and she giggled and patted it.

"Aw, Jamie's tummy is hungry." She patted it some more. "We'll feed it Jamie, don't worry. There's a LOT of places to choose from."

"Really? Well then, this is DEFINITELY my kind of place."


	54. Chapter 54

**Cathy **and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: I got a little chuckle out of that myself lol **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Oh yeah. They can be way too cute for their own good.

…

"Back pavement or front through the beached whales?" James kissed the side of Mindy's head as they headed out into the nearly-blinding Aruban sun, which Mindy knew James loved. Being from the desert James pretty much lived for the sand and Mindy was happy to see that he didn't even need suntan lotion. Mindy on the other hand, was wearing SPF 50, a Von Dutch trucker hat, oversized lavender-framed sunglasses, and a long white button-up of James'. To him that was just fine, he was marking territory by strutting her around in his clothing.

James had Ray-Ban 3324 sunglasses on, a plain black t-shirt, and black argyle shorts which wasn't surprising to Mindy. The beached whale comment referred to the usual suspects at resorts: old, fat, and rich white people who walked around in teensy bikinis.

"JA-mie!" lightly smacking his arm Mindy shook her head while giggling loudly and kissing his hair, "Um…I am in the mood for pizza bar we can make reservations at Paparazzi tonight"

"What's that?" his lips pouted, and the way his lower lip protruded out just enough made her lean in and plant a long, wet kiss to his lips. She sucked on the bottom lip as she did so and he eagerly returned it.

"Mmmmm Jamie…" the way she was moaning…she truly was too sexy for her own good. Immediately his tongue delved down her throat and she returned the favor, running her fingers through his hair and pointing forwards, the direction which James happily headed in towards the stairs to take them down towards the back walkway.

"No ocean?" he frowned when she shook her head and took his hand as they moved down the patio.

"Not until AFTER lunch" nodding and kissing him more she pointed him to the general direction of the pizza bar and he nodded, "This is the shortcut anyway. Otherwise you gotta go all the way around the beaching whales and around this cabana, around a retaining wall, and then cross over the pool deckchair area to get to it. It is not THAT farm, but far enough that I want to cheat"

"Do you?" grinning fondly he kissed her again and she nuzzled her nose against his, "And what made YOU tour guide, Missy? I thought I was"

"I camed here with the divas a long time ago for WWF" she seemed really disgusted with sounding the words out, "'Babes in Hedonism'"

"Photoshoot I'm assuming…?"

She grinned with a bit of a snort, "Lucky guess."

"I bet you were the sexiest one"

"I am Mindy fricken Stratus of course I am" nodding with big eyes she leaned and kissed him harder as they passed gigantic palm trees near the parking lot and a corridor of boutique's, James picking up all the high-end girly clothing, handbags, and shoes he was assuming she wanted him to surprise her with. Then it happened. "Get against the wall…"

"Wall, Baby Doll?" right outside the shops adjacent to a large palm tree was an off-white wall which held up the ceiling which kept the small shops shaded. Her pupils had widened significantly and she nodded with a pant.

"Yeah…wall…now" removing her hat and sunglasses she placed them on him, which made him laugh, and he obliged. With his back to the wall even though it was blatantly in public he eagerly kissed her back and reached a hand up her little leg to rub her throbbing wetness, but she shook her head and kissed him deeper before pulling his cock through his boxers and over his shorts.

He could barely breathe watching her, "Baby Doll…"

"Ssshhh…" putting a finger to her lips she shook her head and stroked his cock slowly at first, making him hiss lightly as her free hand kneaded his balls and her mouth dropped right so her tongue was in line with the pulsing vein underneath, slowly dragging up to make him whimper in agony.

"Oh Baby…" he whimpered yet again but she didn't acknowledge outside of doing it again. And again. And again until the tip of her tongue swirled around the tip of his cock and delved into the slit, making him grip her hair and moan.

Squeezing his balls harder she wrapped her mouth around the tip of his cock and lightly began to suck. A towel man was in the distance pushing the large gray cart of laundry but they paid no heed. Mindy's hot, wet mouth was around and sucking his cock so nothing else mattered. The more of his length she took into her mouth, the harder be breathed before finally grabbing her hair and nearly throwing his head back. His cock was so hard he could barely function, completely stiff and down her wet throat.

"That's it, Baby Doll" he moaned happily and felt the tongue she was adding while sucking him, "Suck me Baby it feels so fucking good…that's it, good girl…Good girl suck me…"

His balls were so tight she was trying to knead them to ease tension but they were so swollen…swollen to the point that she kissed the tip of his moistened cock before taking one ball at a time and sucking on it, gently squeezing his ass as she did so because everything about him was so sculpted. She had to touch him like that, and he thrust into her mouth happily.

"Yes, Baby Doll suck me, yes…!" moaning again he gripped her hair and stared at his own cock, which was so hard to the touch he couldn't even put his fingers on it it was agony. Licking his balls she rubbed her nearly saturated pussy before probing the fingers at his opening, which drove him insane and he arched up.

"I love you Jamie" sighing happily she kissed the head of his cock before sliding three fingers inside him and he gasped, riding her fingers so hard precum began to bead and drip from the head of his cock. Smirking because this was always her favorite part of blowjobs and handjobs she licked the clear fluid off the tip of his cock and caught it as it began to drip to the floor. His cock was so huge the amount of precum he produced might as well have been a normal man's ejaculation.

"Fucking hot Baby Doll…" watching the way her tongue lasciviously swirled around the head and lapped at the fluid he moaned. Her fingers pumped harder and his hips bucked forwards harder than ever. Desperately he wanted to hold on, but the way she sucked him, "You want me to cum Baby Doll? Huh? Do you want me to cum so hard that you can't stop sucking me?"

Increased speed was her answer for that, and before he knew it he released strong into her mouth, moaning at the way she swallowed and licked his cock clean like it was an overflowing ice cream cone.

Panting he let his head rest against the wall, "I love you, Baby Doll…"

"I love YOU" kissing the tip of his cock she ran her tongue underneath the vein and sucked him again. What she really wanted to do was rest the tip of his cock on her lower lip so he came all over her face and in her mouth as well, but they were going to lunch so that would have to be put on hold.

Knowing how hard he was he just had to ask, "How wet are you for me, Baby Doll?"

"Jamie…" she moaned but didn't directly answer, so backing her against the wall he lifted both her legs over his shoulders and kept her back flat against the wall, sticking his head under her dress and moaning because her wetness had not only soaked her panties but dripped onto her thighs.

"Oh Baby Doll…" moving her panties aside with his tongue he began eating her out hard, and she moaned while weaving her fingers into his hair.

"Mmmmm…oh yes, Jamie…" she sighed happily, loving the way he licked and sucked on her pink swollen clit until she came, but it wasn't enough. Next he slipped his tongue inside her and thrust his long smooth tongue into her until he was drenched in her juices.

…

At the poolside Pizza per Tutti bar and grill the celebrity couple sat next to each other in the center of the full wraparound bar with a brick oven pizza in front of them and cheese fries which they were splitting. It was an exclusive resort so it was mostly families and people who paid to be there, but people were still stunned to see Mindy Stratus looking trashy as ever in the trucker hat, sex hair, oversized sunglasses, James' shirt, and Birkenstocks. The bartender was flirting with her though, which James didn't like but knew she was racist so chances of her ever getting an Aruban man were those of a snowball in hell.

"See Jamie?" giggling she nestled into his lap harder and nuzzled his neck, "I told you the pizza bar was a smart choice…and we can get SECONDS! And THIRDS! And EIGHTHS!"

Part of the deal with all-inclusive resorts was everything was prepaid. They had unlimited whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Mindy was sipping on a Hurricane and James had tequila on the rocks. James watched her laugh and pop a French fry in her mouth before gently kissing her neck, still in shock that they actually made it here. They in particular needed an extended vacation more than anything else. People were gawking at them and he didn't even notice. His eyes were just zoned on her…the way she laughed, the way her tongue poked between her teeth, the dainty little flicks of the wrist she did while eating anything, and the speed which words came out of her mouth when excited. They were getting remarried tomorrow evening, and he couldn't have wanted anything more in the world aside from Mindy possibly getting Tryg back. He knew what that did, what it took away from her…but Aiden seemed to save the day. The moment she gazed upon the clone of James she was in love.

"I'm excited for tomorrow…" he blurted out by accident, but the way she both chewed on a mouthful of pizza and kissed his fingers simultaneously made his heart melt. Everything she did tore him in two he was so hooked.

"You will like my dress" she giggled and nodded with bright eyes, taking his left hand and folding it in hers, "it is not foofy or anything but it is so gorgeous and my hair is gonna be real pretty and half up-half down and my makeup will be special I hired good people…"

"I'm sure you'll be stunning" he leaned in and kissed her deeply, "I can't wait to see you in that gorgeous dress."

"Pfft!" she snorted and shook her head, "Please…" waving him off she shook her head and giggled, "I know your game, Jamie…you will be taking it off so fast we will not make it to the hotel room!"

"But…" his eyes got soft and he kissed her neck, "won't you want to consummate our marriage?"

Rolling her eyes she shook her head at him with a smirk before tracing a finger down the bridge of his nose, which he nipped at and made her laugh loudly until they kissed again.

…

To get to Paparazzi to make reservations they had to walk around the perimeter of the massive pool meant to look like a lagoon and upon moving around a Divi tree James froze and his eyes got big, which made Mindy confused and her lips pouted.

"James?"

Still staring his finger went up, "IGUANA!"

"What?" giggling she furrowed her brow and shook her head when James pointed harder and swallowed.

"LOOK! BABY DOLL! LOOK HOW GREEN IT IS!"

"Yeah…" raising an eyebrow Mindy bent down and lifted the six-foot long wild lizard and pet the top of its head despite the gasps from people around her, "they are indigenous to this area, babe…they are supposed to be this green"

Shaking his head he reached out and touched the spikes on the iguanas back before just staring amazed at how Mindy literally picked a wild lizard with sharp teeth off the ground and played with it, "You really ARE something else, you know that?"

"Look up" she pointed above them, and James' eyes got wide at the dozens of iguanas basking in the branches of the Divi tree.

…

Paparazzi was an intimate Italian bar and lounge adorned with the fanciest settings and candles everywhere. Mindy was already going on a tangent about tortellini soup and chicken Marcela she was going to eat that night once they went to their six-thirty reservation. They wanted to walk on the beach that night so they decided on a very early dinner. If they were still hungry the open-air ocean-view Cunucu Terrace buffet was open 24/7.


	55. Chapter 55

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Yes he is. **cathy** and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: Hahahahaha that does sound pretty good right now I gotta agree.

…

James's large fingers were laced tightly with Mindy's as they walked down all across the beach. They were barefoot and they would stop every so often so James could dig his toes into the sand for his own amusement. And as he did so he would bring her fingers up to his mouth and kiss them one by one, which would make her giggle loudly. The night before their first wedding they had spent it apart, both of them doing their bachelor/bachelorette parties and missing each other the entire time. This time, there wasn't any of that. It was just the two of them and they couldn't be any happier.

"This place is so beautiful," he said as they switched from the hand holding to him wrapping his arm around her and clutching her tightly to him. Her arm went around his waist, her hand subconsciously touching the scar on his side from where he stabbed himself. From time to time it still ached, a reminder of just how much he wanted to die when he thought he had lost her for good.

"I know." She snuggled her head against him and looked around. They had found themselves a nice little secluded spot to explore but even if there had been anyone else around, they still would have been alone in their own minds. The only people that came even close to mattering to them beyond each other were their children and they weren't there. So every other person at the resort were really just unimportant pieces of scenery to them. "I want to stay out here forever Jamie."

James smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I do too." They couldn't do that though. If it was just the two of them there wouldn't be an issue. They would just stay on this vacation permanently. But they had children to take care of so that just couldn't be done. That didn't stop the wanting of it though.

Mindy snuggled her head even more against him and closed her eyes, letting him lead her along. Being out here with him was just way too perfect and she really really did not ever want it to end. "I love you Jamie."

"I love you more Baby Doll."

She shook her head and opened her eyes so she could look up at him. "Nope. I love you most."

James's response to that was to brush his nose against hers before kissing her. She deepened the kiss and reached up so she could pet his hair as his hands rested on her lower back and pulled her even closer to him. Their tongues were sliding into each other mouths and they didn't pull apart until their lungs burned and they could know longer ignore it.

"Baby Doll?" James knocked his forehead against hers as he panted for breath.

"Yeah Jamie?" She saw the mischievous look in his eyes and she knew he was plotting something. Whenever he was plotting he got this twinkle in his eye and this big smile that just made her completely melt. He had a lot of years on her but not only was it pretty much impossible to tell from his looks, his personality and some of the things he did made it even harder to remember just how old he really was.

His grin got bigger and the twinkle became much more pronounced. "…TAG! You're it!" He smacked her right on the ass and took off running away from her.

"Oh YOU!" She took off right after him as fast as she could. His long limbs let him take much bigger steps but she was super super fast, so it didn't take too long for her to catch up from him. "HAH! YOU'RE it Jamie!" She smacked him as hard as she could and then took off running back the way she just did.

"Oh YEAH?" James got himself turned back around and chased after her.

"YEAH!" She ran as fast as she could, making him chase her quite a ways before purposefully stopping and turning around to make faces at him. When he was almost on her she tried to run once again but he wasn't about to let that happen. He snagged her by the waist with just one arm and spun her around, making her shriek loudly. "JAMIE!"

"Yes my darling Baby Doll?" He kept spinning for a moment before stopping and kissing her neck. She instantly moved her head so he had more access and he kissed her smooth pale flesh more, one of his hands wondering in between her legs and rubbing her through her panties. She moaned and spread her legs while rubbing back against his hand. One of his fingers slid into her and his lips went up to her ear as she rode his finger hard. "Baby Doll? You're it." Laughing deviously he withdrew his finger and took off again.

He didn't get very far. She ran and launched herself on to his back, putting him into a headlock until he stopped and leaned forward enough to flip her on to her feet. The instant her feet touched the ground her hand was inside of his shorts and stroking his cock hard.

"B-Baby Doll!" He thrust into her hand, his cock quickly becoming hard and in need to get away from the cruel barrier of his shorts.

"You like that Jamie?" Mindy increased the pace of her rubbing until he nodded. "Say it."

"I love it Baby Doll," he said quickly. "I love it please-"

"Good. Because…you're it."

His eyes widened as she stopped and tried to just skip away. "Oh HELL no!" He snaked his arms around her before she could get very far. "No no no no!"

"You did it to ME!" Mindy reminded him with a pout.

"My sincerest apologies. Let me make it up to you." In between her legs his hand went once again and this time two fingers slid into her and began pumping fast. She threw her head back and moaned, her hands freeing his cock from his shorts and stroking it. He thrusted into her hand and kissed her deeply, his tongue eagerly exploring her mouth. He slid another finger into her and moved them faster, rubbing her walls right where he knew she loved it.

"Jamie…" She was riding his fingers hard and stroking him faster. "Fuck me Jamie. I need your cock so fucking bad."

James smirked and his fingers slid out and his cock slammed in, his lips kissing all across her neck as she moaned and arched her back. "Yes Jamie yes!" She was pressing against him as much as she could, her moans getting even louder when he grabbed on to her hips and started thrusting hard.

"You like that Baby Doll?" He was kissing and sucking on her neck hard enough to leave an entire trail of hickeys behind. Why would he care who saw them? It reminded everyone that she was his Baby Doll just like he was her Jamie. A lot of people liked to try to forget that and that was just not allowed. His foot was going to start kicking in anyone's face that dared to forget it. "You like it when I fuck you like this?"

Mindy nodded and started rubbing up against his hand as it started rubbing circles around her clit. "I fucking love it Jamie." She moaned and rubbed against his hand even more. "Harder Jamie harder."

James obliged, the hand not rubbing her clit exploring the rest of her body as he pounded into her as hard as he could. "Jamie Jamie fuck JAMIE!" Her walls tightened even more around his cock as she came and that triggered his own orgasm, which left him weak in the knees and clinging to her for support.

…

"Jamie you KNOW you can get eighths if you want," Mindy reminded him as she looked at how big of a plate he got from the buffet. They had stayed out on the beach until nearly two in the morning and now they were taking advantage of the 24/7 buffet. Mindy had gotten herself a good amount of food but James had literally filled his plate as full as it could possibly be.

"I know," he said brightly. "I didn't forget."

Mindy shook her head as he started digging in to his food. She had learned that the Lawsons all had bottomless pits for stomachs, but James, by far, had the biggest one. It was actually better for him to just snack all throughout the day in between meals because if he actually got really hungry? Forget it. He could easily eat everyone else's helpings along with his own and then still happily demand desert. It was just ridiculous.

"I wanna go skinny dipping," he announced suddenly. "In the ocean."

"You're forgetting that I can't swim Jamie darling."

"I've been teaching you…"

"Our lessons usually wind up with us fucking in the pool or you eating me out." She giggled and gave him a big kiss on the cheek at the happy grin that crossed his face as he remembered that. "Besides, you're not supposed to swim after eating. It's bad."

"Ah bah to that humbug." He kissed her and then held up a forkful of food to her mouth, which she accepted before doing the same to him. "We'll still have to do it. And I'll give you a really really good swimming lesson."

"Oh I'm sure." They kissed and had a mini make-out session before going back to their food. "We have to go out and get drunk," she informed him. "I want to dance with you."

James grinned and kissed her shoulder. "I love it when you dance." Normally he was not a dancer because he felt dumb and clumsy doing it but dancing with her? Hell yeah he would do it. She could move like nothing he had ever seen before and besides, dancing would turn into grinding and dry humping before turning into an all out fuckfest. So of course he was all for that. "I want to go out on a boat."

Mindy smirked. She knew exactly why. "You want to fuck me on a boat."

"Hell yeah. Plus I could DRIVE it! I'd be a fucking boat captain." That idea amused him greatly and Mindy laughed and kissed him.

"You would be a very good boat captain. But I don't know how much driving you'll actually be doing."

He grinned. "True…but even if I drive it just a little I can say I am a boat captain. Bam. I win."

…

Later on, once they were finally done eating, they laid in bed together, the TV on but neither one of them actually watching it. Mindy was curled up on top of James and she had her ear pressed up against his chest so she could listen to his heart beating. His arms were wrapped tightly around her and he was burying his face into her hair, at times almost drifting off only to wake back up by Mindy's fingers just drifting up and down his chest and abs. "Not sleepy yet Baby Doll?" he asked as he kissed her forehead.

"I love you Jamie," was her reply. She nuzzled her face against his chest, her fingers once again tracing over the scar on his side.

"I love YOU Baby Doll." He tilted her head up and kissed her firmly.

"I love you MOST." She deepened the kiss and then moved her lips down to his throat so she could kiss the wire hanger induced scar. Once she kissed it several times over she moved herself down so she could kiss the scar down on his side.

"Baby Doll…" He pulled her back up to him and recaptured her lips in his kiss. One arm wrapped back around her and the other weaved itself through her hair so he could play with it.

"Did you write vows Jamie?" she asked. Their foreheads were pressed together and she was petting his face gently.

"Don't need to write them. I've got them all right here." He took her hand and put it over his heart. Last time the ones he had written had gotten cast aside and he had just spilled his guts right there in front of their family and all of their guests and he would do so again because there was so much he knew he wanted to say but couldn't even fathom writing them down. "What about you?"

"I know what I am going to say," she said with a nod. "Are you going to cry?'

"Does your milkshake bring all the boys to the yard?"

She threw her head back and laughed loudly, which made him grin big time. "Jamie!" She lightly smacked his chest. "You are a dork."

"Your dork," he said as he nuzzled her neck. "My Baby Doll. For forever and ever and ever."


	56. Chapter 56

**Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you! **jadMK11**: Let's just say you might be getting your chance before this vacation is over with.

…

Lying in bed with James the morning of their wedding Mindy had been uncomfortably distant. Ice-blue eyes had been locked on the ceiling, staring blankly as she breathed so shallow James was slightly terrified. One of his hands was held in hers and she actually wasn't sleeping on James for once. She had been lying flat on her back and trembling, which had caused James to immediately pull her on top of him and snuggle her close.

"What's the matter, Baby Doll?" kissing her throat he nuzzled her close, "Baby Doll you have to tell me you can tell me anything…"

"My baby is dying" she croaked, tears burning her eyes as she did so and shaking her head slowly, "My baby is dying of fucking blood cancer and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it short of taking her out of the country to go to Europe and try experimental shit-"

"Baby Doll…"

"I need to take care of my baby" finally craning her neck she looked James in the eye, "My baby is dying I need to take care of her James, she is my baby"

"And you ARE doing everything you can…" petting her chin he looked her in the eye and kissed her, "and I'll be right behind you to make sure everything that is needed to be done is done, Baby Doll, you know I'll never leave you alone"

"Mhm…" sniffling and looking down she kept her eyes averted when he caught her lips in a deep kiss, which she deepened herself.

"I love you, Baby Doll…" stroking her cheek with a single hand he kissed her harder when she pulled back and whimpered, "Baby Doll…"

"Jamie…" shaking her head and feeling a tightening in her chest Mindy shook her head harder, "My baby is going to DIE, James! My baby…" heaving and shaking her head Mindy coughed, "and I let it fucking happen just like Tryggy I let me babies die all the time die die"

"Sssshhh…" shaking his head James stroked her cheek, "Not at all, Baby Doll no no…" nuzzling the side of her face he turned her chin and they kissed, "You're a great mother…the best mommy I've ever seen" nodding he kissed the side of her face and pet her hair, "Everybody loves you, the babies love you…they talk about you constantly they're so crazy about you"

"Jamie…" shaking her head Mindy sniffled but James kissed her again.

"Baby…" shaking his head and kissing her harder James ran a hand through her hair and she arched her back, kissing him deeper. Her legs were straddled over his waist and as her back arched her bare pussy had rubbed against the shaft of his cock, which he tried so hard not to respond to because he didn't think she wanted that at the moment…and then she began rubbing against it in a way which made him moan into her mouth. "Baby Doll…" finally he responded by pulling his cock so she rubbed herself against the shaft and slightly over his balls sending a rush of blood and making him hard quickly.

"Jamie…" kissing him she moved her body forwards and he kneaded her breasts lightly, tonguing her nipples into hardened peaks before sucking one breast at a time. She moaned and grinded against him harder, causing him too to moan and pump his hips harder. The glistening wetness had become his cue to moan and begin rubbing her hot swollen clit with his fingers, loving the way she arched her back and rode him.

"Oh Baby Doll…" his cock had become stiffer with every rub of her hot wet pussy against him, the feel of her clit under his fingers too much to take and finally he couldn't take it anymore. A finger slid inside, James letting out a bit of a gasp at how wet and tight it was when she rode the finger hard. "Oh Baby Doll, fuck…" his own cock in dire need of being touched he slid another finger inside and watched her whimper, reaching and stroking his cock for him. "Getting so wet and hot for me, Baby Doll…"

"Mmmmm Jamie I want you" begging she rode his fingers harder and he slid a third finger inside to really make her back arch.

"You want me to what, Baby Doll? Tell me what to do…" his fingers began maneuvering in and out of her, watching her face and her little hand playing with his cock until it was so hard precum began to bead and drip down his massive length.

"Oh James…" moaning she bent and slowly lapped away as clear fluid spilled from the wide tip, "Mmmmm my favorite…"

"Fucking so good licking my cock like that…" petting her hair he moaned lightly, "you like this, Baby Doll? You like tasting me?"

"Jamie…" sighing as he fingered her harder and began to rub her walls she nodded, "I need you so bad"

"I can tell…" nodding with a smirk he leaned up and kissed her hard before kissing her lips and gently withdrawing the fingers. They breathed into the other's mouth for a moment when he thrust upward and she moaned happily. "Fucking tight, Baby Doll…" moaning again he kissed her hard and began to thrust, "All tight and wet for me squeezing my cock…"

"Uh huh…" moaning happily her tongue glided along his lips and he thrust up harder, staring at the shiny wetness on the base of his cock from being inside her and ramming twice as hard.

"Fuck…fucking love you so much Baby Doll I love you more than anyone in the world and I always will" leaning in he kissed her again and used one hand to squeeze her breasts while the other fondled her clit, doing things to it which was saturating his hand and making her cry sharply.

"Jamie I love you too!" they kissed and he thrust up harder, "I love you too much I do"

"Ride me…" panting he nodded while watching their bodies join on his back, "ride me harder, Baby Doll"

Moaning she reached down and stroked his tightened balls, which were so swollen she was whimpering trying to squeeze them. Hot and hard inside her, the head of his cock rubbed her walls in ways which was making her crazy and made her ride him both harder and faster.

"Good girl, Baby Doll, good girl…" though it wasn't part of his personality, he knew she preferred being talked down to during sex. Being told to do things, being commanded and rewarded…that was what she liked and he did it for her. It gave him an adrenaline rush of power he secretly enjoyed too, being able to completely govern her body and what he wants it to do. "That's it Baby, fuck me! Fuck me, Baby Doll!"

He tried to go harder when she came, and leaning up to kiss her slowly he came as well.

…

Though it defeated the purpose of getting dressed up for a wedding, James and Mindy got ready together until it was time for hair and makeup. James did his own hair which was longish, but easily slicked back so it didn't lightly hang in his eyes and as always he was clean-shaven. She hated facial hair so he always kept his face smooth. Hair and makeup artists had come to apply earthy-toned makeup and style her mop of raven hair into a tousled slightly poofed half-pony.

The beach had been set up with flower gates, tiki torches, a white aisle, and the nondenominational officiant stood waiting for the couple to arrive.

…

Waiting patiently in his black pinstripe Valentino tuxedo which had a black pinstripe shirt as well as tie, James waited patiently outside the resort salon where the bride exited wearing a gown custom-tailored for her by Maggie Sottero, the exact designer who custom-crafted her scarlet wedding gown for their wedding. This time though she wore ivory. James' jaw nearly hit the floor.

She wore a slim line gown with corset closure. Asymmetrical ruching throughout the bodice creating a flattering figure in Gossamer Chiffon style. A delicate beaded shoulder strap lent modern detail to the strapless neckline. A large beaded motif at the side hip led into a side frill draping over the slim skirt, and a train which flowed so far behind her it trailed a good four or five feet.

"B-BABY Doll!" shaking his head in disbelief as she cracked a weak smile they held hands and bodyguards surrounded the couple at the bride's publicist's request because people were taking pictures everywhere. Paparazzi had leaked the secret vow renewal already so everyone knew where to go and where to tune in. The actual little ceremony was being broadcasted on MTV, ABC, Fox, and several other major stations. They were outdoing the Royal Wedding at this point and it was a private ceremony. No one was in attendance but the videographers, photographers, and the officiant. They had wanted it to be private, but Mindy's publicist insisted otherwise.

They walked down the aisle holding hands and Mindy had been trying not to cry. The officiant smiled at them both and they stood before the altar, holding hands and Mindy poked her tongue between her teeth at James, which just made him turn into complete goo and he giggled. He actually giggled. What was this, high school? Had he never been married before? Hell, they were already married this was a vow renewal.

"Marriage is the supreme sharing of experience, and the joyous uniting of those whose comradeship and mutual understanding have flowered into love. Today James and Miranda, you will renew your love to the world, and we who have gathered here rejoice with you and for you in the life you undertake. Will you please join hands…"

Stepping closer to the other James took Mindy's hands in hers and kissed them. He couldn't help it. He loved her so deeply it was making him nervous.

"Today you have come to renew your vows after two years of marriage and two children…"

They nodded, Mindy all cheeky at the officiant but James only had eyes for her. They hadn't moved from her. He was so in love.

"And when you are ready, you may begin one of you…"

Telling by the look in Mindy's eyes she was pulling what she did at their wedding and going first.

"Jamie…" her tongue bashfully poked through her teeth and she giggled, "I love you…I knew I loved you before we even met…and…" she began to get bleary-eyed so James placed a palm to her cheek so he could wipe it, "not a day has gone by where I wouldn't kill, steal, beg, or die for you…you are why I am still alive because you are all I live for. I would take five minutes with you over a lifetime of being alone or with someone else…you are my best friend…" she sniffled, "my only friend…the only friend I want…and though we fight" they looked the other in the eye, "I never want to fight again. It was my fault and I" now she started sobbing which made James nearly break down himself and try to hold her even though he couldn't, "I am SORRY Jamie I am SORRY but I LOVE YOU! Our babies look more like you every day and it makes me so happy…you will always be the love of my life" now she started sobbing, which wasn't okay by James and he kissed her forehead to make it slightly subside before the officiant looked to James.

"Baby Doll…" bumping the bridge of his nose against hers he tried to smile, "my darling beautiful Baby Doll…what being with you has brought into my life I couldn't possibly even begin to count the ways…I had bad habits which you stopped…you tamed me, sated me…I can't breathe for a minute not having you at my side because I'm so fucking in love. You're the air I breathe…the world I see…and the blood flowing through my veins. Our marriage was the best thing to ever happen to me, and my love for you grows stronger each passing SECOND if that is even possible. I know I hurt you…I know I have…but never have I EVER for a SECOND stopped loving you. You are far and away the most important person to ever walk into my life and if something happened to you I would be done-for. Our children mean everything to me because they came from the both of us…we created them together. Our little girl and baby Aiden…and many more to come. My vow to you for sex every single day will not be ignored. Now as we're alive or after we die, wherever we go it'll be together. You are the love of my life, and I mean that in every possible way."

"Forasmuch as you have grown in knowledge and love of one another, and because you have agreed in your desire to go forward in life together, seeking an even richer, deepening relationship, and because you have pledged to meet sorrow and joy as one family, I rejoice to recognize you as husband and wife. You may kiss-"

James launched forwards and dipped her all the way back, kissing her hard on the lips and deepening it by the second, hardly able to breathe from the tears streaming down his face.


	57. Chapter 57

**Esha Napoleon **and **cathy**: Thank you! **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: All is right in Jamie Doll Land. Nice to see after all the shit they went through. **jadeMK11**: Yeeeep he is the one to do it. That's how he rolls.

…

The moment James and Mindy finally stopped kissing was the moment he scooped her up into a carry and took off, ignoring all the paparazzi that the bodyguards were still keeping back. Mindy hugged his neck and kicked her feet at all of them while giggling and poking her tongue between her teeth. He kissed her cheek hard for that and made his legs move faster even though they felt like complete and total goo. It would be easier to just drop down on the sand and take her right there because he needed her THAT badly, but he wasn't going to do that. Not with a slew of paparazzi watching. This was THEIR day, she was HIS Baby Doll and damn it, they were going to be ALONE.

Mindy wrapped her arms more tightly around his neck and kisses and nuzzled his tear stained face. He nuzzled and kissed her back, wanting her even closer than she already was. Her dress, which looked so beautiful on her, was now a cruel barrier between them, as was his tuxedo. They needed to be gotten rid of and they needed to be gotten rid of now.

When they got back to their room he literally kicked the door opened and then kicked it back shut once they were inside. He set her down on her feet so he could work on getting her dress off. She kissed him hungrily and started working on getting rid of his tux. She managed to get rid of his jacket, tie and belt before she found herself naked and laid down on the bed. He let his eyes wonder all over her body while taking off his shirt. The instant it slipped off of him Mindy was pulling him down on to the bed on top of her so they could kiss once more. He slid his tongue deep into her mouth as one of his hands threaded through her long hair while the other gently petted her face. Her hands were alternating between rubbing him through his pants and trying to get them and his boxers off. He moaned into her mouth and grinded back against her hand, getting so hard that finally he had to help her with getting his remaining clothes out of the way because he was so hard that they were beyond uncomfortable.

"I love you," he said as he moved his lips from hers and moving his way downward. His cock was screaming for attention but he was ignoring it for the time being. He was more interested in kissing all across her neck and throat and then down to her chest. He kissed all around his breasts before teasing her nipples with his tongue and then down her stomach his kisses went. Her legs were already spreading more for him and her hand was in his hair, urging him to go down faster. He smirked and while he did continue his trail of kisses downwards, he started kissing all around her inner thighs instead.

"Jamie…" She was arching towards his mouth and gripping his hair more tightly so he grinned and kissed her clit. She threw her head back and moaned, making his cock twitch in excitement. He kissed it again, same reaction. He slowly started licking circles around it, taking an occasional nibble at it as she moved against his mouth.

"I love you Baby Doll."

"I love you more Ja-MIE!" In the midst of her saying his name he slid his tongue into her and started fucking her with it slowly. "Jamie yes! Jamie yes I love you I do!" She gripped his hair even more tightly and bucked against his mouth eagerly. He probably should have held her hips down so she didn't break his nose with her humping but he didn't. Instead he moved his tongue faster, rubbing the tip of it all along her walls the way he knew she loved it.

"Yes Jamie I love your mouth," she moaned. She arched her back, whimpering when he reached up with one hand to play with her breasts. "You lick me so perfect baby."

Perfect…in his entire lifetime she was the only person who thought of him that way. He knew he wasn't that way but she believed he was and she made him want to be. He wanted to be everything she deserved to have. She was his world. His Baby Doll, his wife, the love of his life and she was his and it was all so fucking perfect. It had been rough for a time, with their fights and Lizzie getting taken then her getting taken as well and then Tryg but they were FINALLY back on the right track. They were back to how they should be and nothing was going to tear them apart again. He wouldn't allow it. No fighting, no bullshit from anyone else…they had gone through hell and back and they were stronger than ever.

"Jamie Jamie JAMIE!" Mindy's orgasm brought him out of his thoughts and he smirked and kept licking her, spreading her legs further apart so he could slide his tongue deeper. He loved doing this. The way she tasted, how wet she got, the way she reacted when he got a spot he knew she loved-it all drove him wild. It made him so hard for her that he was rubbing himself against the bed without even realizing it.

"Jamie fuck me," she begged once she rode out her third orgasm. "Jamie fuck me I need you please-" She moaned loudly as he easily slid his cock into her completely drenched pussy. "Jamie!"

"Oh fuck Baby Doll," he moaned. He buried his face into her neck as he gave them both a moment to adjust. Her wet tightness felt so good around his cock that it was tempting to cum already. He was restraining himself though. He wanted to make love to her properly, not cum in two seconds like a teenaged boy having sex for the first time.

"Mmmm Jamie." Mindy's short lets wrapped themselves around his waist and her arms went around his neck. That was his signal to move and move he did. It went without saying this was going to be an all night thing. That suited him just fine. He needed her all the time and wasn't ashamed to admit it.

Mindy held on to James more tightly and moved back against his thrusts eagerly. While she hadn't shared it with him yet, she had this feeling he had gotten her pregnant yet again (and if for some reason he hadn't yet, it was sure as hell to happen by the time this vacation was over, especially at the rate they were going). And she wouldn't share that feeling with him until they got home and she actually took the test. There were things she wanted to do with him that involved alcohol and she was going to do them, since officially she actually didn't know if she was pregnant again. It was just a feeling after all.

…

"Play it again," Scarlett ordered as Taylor came back into the living room with Aiden. She had just gone to get him his bottle and told the kids to pick out a movie for them to watch together but a movie was not on their agenda. No, they wanted to watch James and Mindy's wedding again, which they had recorded. They had wanted to see it and Taylor, knowing that Elizabeth and Aiden would probably need something during it, had made sure to record it so she could go back and watch anything she missed.

"Again?" Taylor sat down on the couch and started to feed Aiden while looking at Elizabeth and Amber. Amber had her arm protectively around her baby sister, who had a baggie full of Cheerios that she was actually sharing with Lammy. At first she had gotten really upset that Lammy didn't appear to be eating but then Amber got the brilliant idea to sneak Lammy's pieces down to the floor for Snoopy to eat. That meant Amber was now Snoopy's favorite person besides Connor, who was sitting on the floor playing with his headless G.I. Joes. The girls weren't exactly thrilled to have him around (save Elizabeth, who liked him because when she blew a raspberry at him he blew one back and made her laugh) but Taylor felt bad for him because Cooper had been in a pretty horrible funk since James and Mindy left. He was as hopelessly in love with Mindy as ever and he was being a total dick to Connor to help relieve his own frustrations. The final straw had come earlier that morning, when Cooper all but shoved Connor down the stairs for no good reason. Taylor had taken the nearest shoe and chucked it at Cooper's head and told him to stay away until he got his head out of his ass and got over himself. Connor hadn't left her side since.

"Yes," Scarlett confirmed. She and Thorn were sitting on the other couch with Chelsea, who was watching the TV impatiently in her signature 3D glasses and chocolate covered popcorn to stuff in her hamster cheeks. She had seen Mommy and Daddy on TV and now she was all for seeing them again. She wanted them back she didn't get why they were away again. They were away too much and Princess Chelsea was sick of it. "Mommy was SO beautiful-"

"So was Daddy!" Thorn pointed out. "And did you see how much he cried?"

"I think he cried more than her," Connor said. He had actually watched it although he had made it look like he had been playing with his G.I. Joes instead of paying attention. "I don't get it."

Amber rolled her eyes at him. "They cried because they're so in love."

"So that made them sad."

"No. It just means THAT much to them that they couldn't help but cry."

"Oh…" Connor pouted his lips and shook his head. That didn't make much sense to him but whatever. He wasn't dwelling on it.

"He looks so much like him," Taylor said as the wedding started to play once again. She was looking back and forth between Aiden and James. "It's almost scary." Elizabeth was James's mini-me sure but Aiden was just a clone. A total baby clone and the fact that he was born with dark hair and dark eyes as opposed to the blonde hair, blue eyes that Mindy's children were really reinforced it.

"Ooooh! I remember I remember!" He jumped up to his feet and ran off without another word, leaving the others all very very confused.

"What was that about?" Taylor asked.

Amber shook her head. "It's Connor. Nobody knows but him and even then I don't think ever really does."

"Con-nor!" Elizabeth said slowly, giggling when all eyes turned to her. Snoopy put his two front paws up on the couch and stared at her and she squealed and grabbed at his face. "PUPPY!"

"I got it! I got it!" Back came Connor and he was holding a box he had been snooping through last night. It was one of the few boxes that instead of being unpacked it had just been left until James and Mindy came back from Aruba. "Look look look!" He plopped down on the floor and opened the box up, pulling one of the few very old photos that was in there along with some old clothes. "It's DADDY! When he was a BABY!"

"Holy SHIT!" Amber looked back and forth between the photo and Aiden, who had drifted off to sleep in Taylor's arms. If she hadn't known it was James in the picture, she could have honestly said it was Aiden.

"Look there's baby clothes in here!" Thorn and Scarlett were digging through the box and pulling out James's baby clothes. "Look look look!"

"They're OLD!" Scarlett said in a bit of a snooty voice.

"So is Daddy dummy!" Thorn said, elbowing her twin in the ribs.

"Hey hey hey, none of that now," Taylor scolded lightly.

"But-"

"SSSSSHHHHHHH!" A very annoyed Chelsea got off the couch and gave them her best angry face. "That's-" she pointed to Mindy and James on the TV "Mommy and Daddy! MY best Daddy!"

"You've SEEN this though!" Connor pointed out. "You don't-what are you-HEY!" Chelsea had stomped right over to him and picked up one of his dolls and whacked him upside the head with it.

"SSSHHHHH!" She kicked him in the shin for good measure before returning to her original spot and resumed stuffing her cheeks while Amber started laughing so hard she cried.


	58. Chapter 58

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: I know. She really is just too much. Knowing them? Pretty damn soon. And yes, he sucks. Stupid boy *kicks him* **jadeMK11:** For the moment yeah. Knowing him though he'll be back all too soon. **Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

"The table's really hot, you gotta remember not to touch" immediately Mindy craned her neck so she and James could make eye contact at the table they were seated at for lunch the next day called the Palm Grill. It was a create-your-own stir fry in which James had happily volunteered to be the master chef and cook both their food right on the table. He didn't think when Mindy said 'create your own' that she meant it in THAT sense, but it was legitimate. He felt like whenever he took her for Japanese and it was that hibachi table, only this time he got to cook.

"You don't like shrimp Baby Doll, right?" James positioned her Margarita so it was easily accessible to her without her burning her hand on the table which had literally become a gigantic hot plate.

"No THANK you, my darling" poking at her salad and only eating the tomato Mindy craned her neck and they kissed, James trickling his fingers down her throat and kissing her harder before closing a hand around her breast quick.

"Alright me either" he shook his head and literally slid the shrimp across the table around to the side which Mindy was supposed to be sitting at so it could just fry, "Either Mr. waiter comes and picks it up or we get a romantic bonfire before our eyes"

"HAH! JAMIE!" smacking his forearm as a boyish grin spread across his face they kissed and he nuzzled his nose against the side of her face.

"Chicken and steak?" James raised an eyebrow and she nodded happily.

"Chicken and STEAK, babe let's see you fry this shit!"

"I'm trying…" carefully he plopped the food down on the table and knew she liked her meat still moving, so her steak didn't have to stay on at all.

"Just remember if you see pink in the chickie you gotta keep it on the grill…" her voice came maternally and James had to smirk at 'chickie' it was just too cute to be ignored.

"Chickie, Baby Doll? I've gotta watch the pink chickie?"

"If you want salmonella then YES my darling you must watch the chickie"

"Watch the chickie…" James nodded along, finally smirking as he realized she was becoming wise to it.

"Heyyy!" finally her lips got all pouty and she growled, "Are YOU makin fun a' me?"

"Of COURSE not!" James' eyes widened and he shook his head innocently, "ME? Make fun of YOU? My wonderful Baby Doll?"

"Yeah?" shaking her head and rolling her eyes she waved him off, "Go take a powder I be done."

"You 'be' done?" his eyebrows rose and at this point she was simply too irritated for words.

"You know WHAT Jamie? Jump off the world!"

"But BABY Doll!" barely able to contain himself he chuckled and gave her the biggest puppy eyes he could muster, "It's so high UP! You think you can give me a stepladder? Or…?"

"I will give you something alright" grabbing his chin she pulled his head down and they kissed. It was innocent at first, but then their tongues slid into the other's mouth and James let his hand drift between her legs to start rubbing her pussy as she sat in his lap.

"Mmmm JAMIE!" she was wet. So fucking wet for him as three of his long fingers slid right inside and made her gasp. Happily she let him pump his fingers in and out, nobody even noticing this was going on when a waiter finally came and asked them if they were finished with the shrimp.

…

"So how does it taste?" James grinned as Mindy started rolling his stir-fry in the tortilla. She was starting with the chicken since it was less filling and moving for the steak afterwards. Ethnic rice and stir-fried vegetables were the side dishes, but James' bigger concern was how the food he made was.

"Well being that you are a man and if you do not know how to grill you fail the species…" teasing and grabbing his nose she took a big bite and her eyes widened in surprise, "Mmmmm baby this is delicious!"

"Really? Or are you just making me feel better?"

"No really darling" nodding she grabbed his mouth and they kissed, "absolutely yummy."

"Hm" taking a bite himself he was pleasantly surprised to see it was good and he ordered extra meat when the waiter came back.

"I think you have found your true calling my darling"

"Caribbean stir-fry?" smirking James nodded along and snorted, "I guess I could count that among my talents"

"You have so many though" giggling she kissed him and the music got even louder, James and Mindy craning their necks since the restaurant was literally the second level of the dance hall to see there was a real wedding going on below. The reception party was for a man and woman a few years older than Mindy. All things considerd even at twenty-nine Mindy was still an incredibly young mother to have six children of her own at the ages they were.

…

Late afternoon as they headed along the sand holding hands about ankle-deep in the tide, James got an attack of monkeyshines and ripped Mindy into a long hard kiss. The kiss turned into making out and before she knew it he had gotten her dress over her head and pulled the string on her bikini, placing her body in the ankle-deep water and his in front of it to block the crashing waves.

"JAMIE!" eyes wide as his tongue savored the salt water mixed with her natural sticky wetness Mindy moaned, "SHARKS!"

"No sharks here" shaking his head James kept his head between her legs and just lapped away, hooking her legs up over his shoulders and spreading her pussy with his fingers so he could lick as much and hard as he wanted.

"Oh Jamie…" grinding her body against the sand while humping his face she held his head on, but he waited for the tide to rush in and saturate her pussy and make it extra sticky. Ignoring the wetness he nibbled and sucked her clit, loving how swollen it was for him and soft under his tongue. "Mmmmm James…"

Sucking her clit harder he slipped two fingers inside her and watched how she rode them, how wet those fingers got. The saltwater mixed with sweat had given her skin a particular taste he couldn't get enough of. He wanted more every second. Sucking her clit he swirled his tongue around and she came hard, moaning and covering his face in her sweet-tasting juices, and the tide rushed in.

"Fuck me, Jamie…"

He knew what she meant by that, so slowly his tongue slipped inside her and he started fucking her slowly with it. Fingers rubbed circles around her clit as she moaned and let him lick her deeper, opening her legs as wide as they could go for his tongue.

"Oh Jamie yes Jamie yes…!" moaning she fucked his mouth as hard as she could, watching how he was actually humping the wet sand because his cock was so hard from licking her. The sight alone made her cum, and he lapped her juices before kissing her hard and rubbing her pussy with a free hand. "On your back, James…"

It was trickier for him considering the water rushing in, but he supported himself on his elbows as she took ocean water and began to wash the sand off his cock.

"Mmm baby you're so ready…" licking the head of his cock as his entire body tensed Mindy smirked and licked it longer, watching how his hips jerked before taking only the head in her mouth and sucking hard.

"Mmm fuck Baby Doll!" moaning he tried not to thrust into her mouth but it was so hard. The sand made everything more difficult. She drew more of him into her mouth as she sucked, massaging his balls as she went in ways which were making him insane. "Baby Doll…Baby Doll yes yes…" watching desperately as his cock disappeared down her throat he wanted to cum but it felt too good to stop. Her mouth around his cock was one of his favorite things in the world and he didn't want to cut it short for anything. Gently squeezing his balls as she sucked she managed to make him cum and once he did she swallowed and sucked him dry, and from there he flipped her over and fucked her until he was gasping for air.

…

They went back to the room to shower and freshen up for dinner that night at Ginger, the Asian fusion restaurant which Mindy was more than looking forward to. Shower sex was involved and that lasted to the point that they wanted to cancel the reservation and just spend the whole night fucking in the shower. He would have loved to have gotten away with that, but he knew how much she actually wanted the restaurant so he resorted to eating her out on the bed once they got out, getting head before she put her makeup on, and when she was trying to straighten her hair he bent her body forwards over the bathroom counter and slipped his cock inside. Slapping her ass quick and grabbing her hips he thrust as hard as he could, making her sigh and scream in ways which were making him insane. He loved fucking her, doing things to her when she least expected it. With her pussy too wet to stop anytime soon he kept going even after she came. He would have ripped her back by her hair and ripped her breasts out of her dress to squeeze and play with them, but she put too much effort into that outfit. Instead he just pounded her over and over again.

At times just raw sex was what they liked. Lovemaking was nice and his favorite thing in the world, but every now and then it was fun just to let go and slam into her as hard as he wanted for the sake of getting off. With no sounds but that of him thrusting into her he was harder than ever. Drenched in her juices he honestly could not stop fucking her.

…

Mindy happily munched on her chicken with peanut sauce and noodles as James ordered a steak teriyaki dish since it was probably the safest item on the menu.

"Here…" holding a piece of the sauce-covered chicken towards him she nodded, "You would love Thai food it is really spicy, babe"

"Spicy, you say?" smirking he opened his mouth and accepted the chicken from her, his eyes widening as he chewed and she giggled loudly.

"SEE Jamie darling? I TOLD you! It is so good darling you need to try it more! Like I always tell Chelsea" giggling she tossed her lengthy raven hair behind her and wagged a finger his way, "Try new things try new things!"

James smiled softly at that. His Princess…oh how he missed her. His sweet adorable chubby little boss of a princess. He assumed she would be just fine by herself, she always was. If any kid was capable of getting by it was her.

"I'm not really exposed to all this…" he meant the ritzy style of vacation they were on and the atmosphere, "I've always been more of a takeout kinda guy, you know? The whole wining and dining is still new"

"It is all I know anymore…" dropping her eyes she lifted them and straightened her posture, "When you are where I am in society you have no choice but to live the life they want you to. It is a very super sad state of affairs but hey" she shrugged, "Nobody told me to take this life. I pushed myself towards it and voila! I have it"

"I'm more than willing to share it with you" leaning across the table he leaned and kissed her before spearing a piece of her chicken in what seemed to be secret until she caught it and lunged his way.

"JAMIE!"


	59. Chapter 59

**jadeMK11**: lol Yeah sure. He's definitely come leaps and bounds from setting pretty much everything on fire like he used to. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: It is. After everything they've been through this really is doing them a world of good. **Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

Cooper took a long drag of his cigarette and exhaled it slowly. He was holed up in his room and sitting by his window, staring out the window. Taylor was out there, Aiden safely in her arms while she watched over the others. Amber was trying to get Elizabeth to sit down and make a sand castle with her but Elizabeth was hell bent on crawling everywhere. Chelsea was sitting down with Stickers and Fievel both grasped in one arm and was using her free hand to arrange a bunch of sea shells to her liking. Thorn, Scarlett and Connor were trying to get Snoopy and Oxa to either have a race or go swim in the ocean (he couldn't tell which but he knew it probably had to do with proving who the superior pet was) but Oxa just looked at them with an exasperated look and refused to budge while Snoopy started running in circles and randomly pouncing on them. He should have been down there helping with the children but he wasn't. They didn't want to be around him and he wasn't looking to be around them. He wasn't in the mood to deal with them.

The sun started to hurt his tired and hungover head so he pulled the shade back down and then stared around at his room. He was missing Mindy terribly. He had seen the wedding from Aruba, just like everyone else had. He shouldn't have watched it. It had just made his stomach burn in jealousy. They looked so in love. It wasn't fair. He loved her more, he needed her more, he understood her better than James ever would…yet that didn't matter. Why should it? What he wanted never had mattered. The world enjoyed kicking his ass and making him miserable. It was just the way things worked.

He shook his head and got up out of his chair. He couldn't just sit here anymore. He needed to do something. The first something on his mind was to call her but he couldn't. Not with James constantly right there. He knew damn well what the two of them had spent most of their time doing and it drove him absolutely insane because it wasn't him. It wasn't him that was there with her and he wished it was. The reality of the situation though was that James would go after him yet again if he was caught even thinking about it and Mindy had been avoiding him before she and James left and would most likely continue to do so once they got back. And that killed him.

On went his shoes and off he went. He didn't know where he was going or when he would even be back. He just needed to get out. Just get out of this house with Taylor and Connor and the kids and just actually be completely alone. It probably wouldn't really do much good but he was going to give it a shot anyway. At the very least, it would be a change of scenery.

…

"Lizzie!" Amber said in exasperation. Elizabeth was still trying to crawl all over the place but luckily Taylor was chasing her back in this direction. "Come HERE!" Amber pulled her ornery little sister into her lap and held on tightly. "You're supposed to be helping me!"

"Bird!" Elizabeth was looking up at the sky and looking at a bird that was flying around up there. "Bird! MINE!" She reached up with the hand that wasn't holding Lammy to try to grab the bird right out of the sky.

Taylor laughed and shook her head. "No Lizzie, you can't have that bird."

"YES!" Elizabeth glared at her. Nobody told her no. That was not allowed.

"Come on Lizzie, help me build a castle," Amber pleaded. "It's fun!" She started trying to make it so she could entice Elizabeth into staying still. What she didn't know was that she had attracted Chelsea's attention until she was tapped on the shoulder. "What Chelsea?"

"Princess lives in castle," Chelsea said with a nod and a point to the beginnings of the castle that Amber had made. James had read her lots of stories about princesses and she knew damn well they lived in castles. "And I'm" she pointed to herself with her thumb, the most serious expression on her chubby little face "Princess."

Amber snickered. "You're going to live in this castle?"

"Yes." Chelsea nodded. She was so serious it was just beyond adorable. Amber and Taylor were completely dying at the moment. "It's MY castle."

Elizabeth stared at Chelsea with a little evil glint in her blue eyes. In her eyes, Chelsea was always stealing attention that should have been hers and she didn't appreciate it. "MINE!" She got away from Amber and not only walked on the castle, but fell on it and tossed the sand around for good measure.

"Lizzie!" Taylor exclaimed while Amber shook her head in exasperation.

Chelsea's eyes widened for a moment before narrowing angrily and she put her hands on her hips, wrinkled her nose and issued what was supposed to be a threat but was just too cute to sound intimidating.

"Stupid Lizzie! I'm telling DADDY!"

…

"Mmmm Baby Doll…" James let out a very happy groan as Mindy's hands massaged his shoulders. He had woken up to her kissing him and telling him to roll over and so far, this was working out very nicely indeed.

"You like this Jamie?" Mindy asked with a giggle. She was sitting on his lower back at the moment and while she massaged him she rubbed herself up against him, which made him smirk and look back at her.

"Oh yeah. I think I'll have to repay you as soon as you're done."

"Oh Jamie." She kissed the back of his neck and kept up her massage, gradually moving her hands from his shoulders and all the way down his back. The more her hands worked him the more he groaned and the more she noticed him grinding into the bed. "Are you getting hard Jamie?" She placed a small trail of kisses all down his spine.

"Mmhmmm. I'm very-" Halfway through finishing his sentence and trying to turn over on his back so she could feel just how hard he was his phone rang. "What the hell?" He glanced over at it and frowned. "Who is it?"

Mindy reached over and snatched the phone, her eyes widening as Amber's number flashed across the screen. Immediately she thought something was wrong and she quickly answered it. "Ambieloo?"

"MOMMY!"

"Chelsea?"

Immediately James's entire face lit up. "Princess!" He got himself rolled over and sat up. Mindy already knew what he wanted so she pressed the button to put it on speaker.

"Daddy!"

"Hi Princess!"

"Chelsea baby are you okay?" Mindy asked.

"No!" All the way back home Chelsea glared at Elizabeth, who blew a raspberry at her. "Lizzie is BAD!"

Mindy and James exchanged looks at that. "Bad?" James repeated incredulously. His Lizzie Bear bad? No, there had to be a mistake. "What do you mean Princess?"

"I don't have a castle anymore. Lizzie stepped on it. And sat on it. On PURPOSE!"

"Oh dear," Mindy said with a shake of her head.

"Lizzie BAD Daddy!" Chelsea said firmly. "I'm Princess! You tell her NO!"

"Okay Princess, I'll tell her not to crush your castles anymore." James didn't think that Elizabeth would do that on purpose because he was just that whipped but Chelsea was obviously very upset about this and that was not something he liked. She was Princess she couldn't be upset. "And when Mommy and I get back we'll build an extra big castle together. Does that sound good?"

"Yes!" She sat down and kicked her feet happily. "And Stickers."

"Oh yes, Stickers can help."

"I've got the Stickers."

"You do?" James let out a mock gasp of surprise and Mindy giggled. "Give him an extra big kiss for me and Mommy, okay Princess?"

"Okay Daddy."

…

"Amber can you please go get Cooper?" Taylor asked. He had been AWOL for most of the day and she really really needed his help right now. She was trying to put Elizabeth and Aiden down for their naps but Elizabeth wasn't cooperating and it did NOT help that Connor had put on a monster mask and was chasing Thorn and Scarlett all throughout the house. She didn't want to ask for Cooper's help really but she didn't know what else to do. She had two babies on her hands she couldn't really wrangle Connor in as well.

Amber sighed and got up to her feet. "Fine." She wasn't thrilled about him bothering them at all but she wasn't going to stress Taylor out even more than she seemed to be. Connor and the twins' war had those three all riled up so they were really no help and Elizabeth, being the little shit that she was, was trying to grab Aiden's face and stick his nose in her mouth for some reason.

"Lizzie! No honey leave him be," Taylor pleaded. "Why are you doing that anyway you weirdo?"

"Num num num." Elizabeth tried once again to eat Aiden's nose and Aiden looked seriously disturbed so Taylor had no choice but to sit Elizabeth down on the couch and put Lammy's face in front of her to eat.

"There. Lammy likes it when you chew on him." Taylor nodded as Elizabeth happily chewed on her best friend. Aiden was fussing now though so she started trying to rock him back into sedation. "Sssshhh now. Lizzie was just playing. She wasn't really going to eat your nose." She kissed his forehead, smiling as he reached up and touched her face. He was just so cute.

"He's not here!" Amber announced as she came back in the room.

Taylor gave her a confused look. "What do you mean he's not here?"

"I mean he's gone! Vanished. Disappeared. Went bye bye."

"Oh fucking hell Cooper…" Taylor groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Where would he-oh you know what? I don't care. I don't damn it." She was tired of his crap. She couldn't take it. She had fallen so hard for him and had pretty much gotten crushed with the knowledge he was more intent on having something that could just never be. And the way he was acting now, it just was ridiculous. She didn't want to deal with it. She had too much to deal with and if he wasn't going to grow up and help her, he was better off being away.

…

"That's it Baby Doll," James said happily. The massage that had gotten interrupted earlier was back on, only this time, Mindy had another idea in mind as well. "Mmm fuck I fucking love your hands."

Mindy giggled as she finished up working over his lower back. "Turn over," she ordered as she gave him a good hard smack on the ass. "I have to get your front now."

"Yes ma'am." James rolled himself on to his back, his eyes trailing up and down her body. "Fuck you're so fucking beautiful…" He tried to reach out and touch her but she grabbed his wrists and handcuffed them over his head, smirking at his confusion. "Baby Doll-"

"I want to play with you Jamie." She kissed him hard, making out with him for a few minutes before starting to kiss and lick and bite her way down his body.

"Fuuck." James arched himself up to her mouth as much as could, his cock twitching and getting harder and harder with each passing second.

"Are you hard for me Jamie?" He was still naked from last night's activities so there were no pesky boxers in the way this time. "Are you hard for me?" She wrapped her hand around his cock and gave it a couple of strokes.

"Oh fuck yes," he confirmed as he thrust up into her hand. "Baby Doll please…"

"Please what Jamie?" She flicked her tongue over the head of his cock. "Please what you have to tell me."

"Suck me," he managed to say as he tried to somehow wiggle out of the handcuffs. He was torn between his extreme desire to touch her and the fact that he was turned on by being under her complete control. "Please Baby Doll I-" The rest was lost by her running her tongue up and down the vein underneath his cock and then taking just the head and sucking on it lightly. "Oh fucking hell Baby Doll." He moved his head up as much as he could and watched her, unable to see what he could hear her getting out of the bag at first. Any questions he had were soon answered though when she held the strap-on up for him to see.

"You want me to fuck you Jamie?"

He nodded.

"You gotta say it Jamie."

"Fuck me Baby Doll. Please please fuck me so hard…"

In her mouth his cock went again as she rubbed her own pussy with three of her fingers before sliding them into him. His hands gripped on to the headboard as he moaned, his release spilling into her mouth because he couldn't even try to control himself.

"Mmmm Jamie." Mindy made a show of swallowing his seed before grabbing his cock and stroking it. "Get hard again Jamie. Come on…"

It didn't take long for that to happen. He bucked up into her hand desperately, almost seemingly trying to make himself cum again just from that. She didn't let that happen though. Once he was hard she let go and slid the dildo into her own pussy to get it nice and wet before putting it on and positioning herself in between his legs. His legs wrapped themselves around her already and she immediately slammed into him, the loud moan he let out just making her beyond wet.

"Baby Doll please. Please please fuck me."

She was more than happy to oblige. She pulled almost all the way out and then slammed back in, making him moan so loud that she had to just keep fucking him that hard so he would keep doing it. The strap-on really did nothing for her. It was just for him. She knew he enjoyed it so she did it, something she wouldn't have dreamed to do with anyone else. Of course, James wasn't just anybody. He was her James and she would do anything for him.

"Fuck Baby Doll fuck fuck I'm so close." She was slamming into him so hard and it felt so damn good it was making his head spin.

She grabbed his cock and started to stroke it hard. "Cum for me Jamie." She was aiming his cock at herself so he would cum all over her. "Cum for me Jamie cum cum please cum."

One more thrust into her and he came, the sight of her covering himself with his cum getting him hard again already. She pulled the strap-on out of him and tossed it aside before crawling up him and letting him out of the handcuffs. "Jamie-" She didn't even have to finish. The moment his hands were free he flipped them over so he was on top and he slammed his cock right into her, making her moan and dig her nails so hard into his back she drew blood.

…

"Jamie?" Later that afternoon, they were walking hand in hand across the beach, towards the boat they were going to take out for who knew how long.

"Yes my darling Baby Doll?" He kissed her hand and gave her his most charming grin.

"Why are you wearing that hat?" He was wearing a white and black hat that she didn't even know how he found.

"Because I'm the captain of our fine boat," he said happily. "And the captain needs a nice hat."

"And where did you get it?"

"Oh…around." That meant he stole it from somewhere and she opened her mouth to say something about that but he quickly stopped her by picking her up over his shoulder and smacking her ass before taking off running towards the boat, laughing as she yelped and tried to smack his ass back.


	60. Chapter 60

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: I agree. Cooper's feelings are strong for sure but if you look back at everything James has done for her and gone through…fact is Cooper's too selfish to do it. **Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: James' hat origins are probably better untold. And I agree, we can't blame Taylor for being fed up. I think we're all fed up with him at this point.

…

Dangling the keys to the speedboat he had bought for the occasion James had fixed his Ray-Ban sunglasses sat they sat perfect below his captain's hat while kissing Mindy towards the end of the dock. Their boat was waiting for them and James had ordered for it to be stocked with enough wine, bread, and cheese to last them the entire night. Mindy loved wine and cheese, it was one of her favorite romantic evening treats and the bread naturally went along with that too. She liked bread to make sandwiches with.

Keeping her hands folded in his he slowly glided his tongue around her mouth as they moved to the edge of the dock. He didn't know exactly how to drive a boat, but he would learn. The thing was super-fast it could go up to one hundred miles an hour because he bought just about the spiffiest one there was, but it was worth it. He wanted to speed. Though knowing Mindy they may not be actually driving anywhere. As it was she had a string bikini on with a little white sarong dangling at her hips. No dress, no nothing just that bikini and tie-together skirt. She was begging to be fucked like crazy.

The Aruban was waiting at the edge of the dock for them to board so he could help with the anchoring tie since James knew nothing about boating, and it was successfully untied. James helped Mindy up the platform while amazingly kissing her and when it was time to get on the boat they were already making out.

"Baby Doll…" he moaned into her mouth, watching her face even though her eyes were closed as their tongues caressed the other, "fucking love you so much I need you like crazy"

"I need you too, Jamie" sitting in the passenger seat her legs opened and long thick fingers caressed her clit. She was wet. He couldn't wait. A long finger slipped inside and began to pump slowly, watching her face and body contort with pleasure as he slowly moved his finger in and out of her tight wetness.

"Oh Baby Doll…" his fingers being coated with her juices as he pumped harder were too much. His cock was begging for release he was so hard and she reached up a foot to rub over his crotch. Moaning he began to grind himself against her little foot as it rubbed him and his mouth dipped to lap and suck her clit. Another finger slipped inside and with a moan she was riding his fingers and mouth, just waiting for that third finger to slip inside. "You hot for me, Baby? Huh? Are you all hot for me right now?"

Her sharp moan as he slid a third finger inside was the answer. Her foot rubbed him harder so he bucked against her harder, loving how she felt under his tongue.

"Mmmmm Jamie more" begging she rode his mouth and he coiled his tongue around her clit, nibbling and sucking as the speed his fingers took while rubbing her throbbing walls gradually increased. "Feels so good, Jamie keep going…"

Moaning he took a second just to rub his cock against her foot and finally she couldn't take it. Sitting up her hands pulled his shorts down and out came his cock, practically purple with stiffness.

"Oh James!" with the strong urge to stroke it she reached down and took him in her hand. Arching towards her hand he gasped and began to thrust into her hard to help her along.

"That's it, Baby Doll, yes! Fucking love it when you touch my cock"

"It's gonna feel even better when you fuck me" nodding she smirked and opened her legs wider, moaning as he slammed inside and thrust as hard as he could.

…

Eventually Captain Jamie did get the boat going and Mindy nervously sat in the passenger seat as he drove at a ridiculous speed in no particular direction. The little demon in him was having fun going at this speed and Mindy was pretending to enjoy it. Her hands were dug into the sides of the boat out of fear and she kept looking at the water below, imagining the whole damn thing capsizing and killing them. She hated boats. She hated the water. She hated everything to do with water activities. Her hair had already become a gigantic ball of frizz which she was self-conscious about especially around James, who literally woke up and did whatever he wanted because he had perfect hair. He walked right out in the sun and became a deep golden tan because of his perfect skin. Even if he skipped shaving for a day he had the perfect stubble. Everything about him was just perfect meanwhile if she went out without makeup she looked about one-hundred years old. James was just perfect. Everything about him was perfect.

Living with someone like him was extremely difficult. He had so much energy, he woke up and wanted to go out and explore all day. With his looks he was able to do that. He was twice her age but he looked like a boy. He kissed like a boy, made love like a boy…she had to sit down and remind herself he was practically fifty years old. Not a wrinkle could be found on his golden skin. His muscles too…that was no middle-aged man's body and he did nothing for them. He was built like a truck and she loved it. As a fat person she loved everything about his perfect physique, but felt she had to exert herself and try harder to match him. Everyone who knew them as a couple knew she upgraded. He was too perfect for someone like her. Who gave a good fuck that she was Mindy Stratus, she was the most beautiful woman in the world thanks to her doctors. They were the ones who nipped and tucked her to the point that she was unrecognizable from even her early days of fame with her bleached-blonde hair and perfectly toned body. She didn't exercise to get that body for the most part. She had liposuction all the time and it did its job. No one knew Mindy Stratus was actually heavy, and if they did she was called out constantly for it. What no one understood was that if she was stick-thin, she couldn't sing the way she could. Her favorite singer was Adele, who was a BIG big girl. She made Mindy look like a stick figure. Yet, Adele had one-of, if not THE best voice in the business until Mindy's next album came out in the fall.

James had prevented her from ever being in the spotlight again, but she went out and recorded the album. She wasn't taking no for an answer anymore. She wanted to sing, and damn it she was going to release an album. Mindy Stratus, Britney Spears, Ben Moody (her former guitarist), Justin Timberlake, Paris Hilton, M. Shadows, Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, and others were still relevant even as they all approached thirty together. They had to keep their spots in the spotlight, and in a way the group of artists was all friendly with each other despite being competition. Mindy especially loved Britney, Paris, and Beyonce. Britney Spears was her first famous friend. They became famous at the same time and were signed to the same label. Britney appealed more to tweens and Mindy's once eye-catching bombshell figure captivated teenagers and men with her edgier rock sound.

There was no way James could understand what it was like to be so incredibly famous and then just disappear from the spotlight. Talking to him about it would be like speaking to a brick wall so there was no point in trying, but she wished there was a way she could. Fame was in her blood, in her children's blood, and it would never leave them. For generations to come her name is world-famous so they'll be followed by paparazzi. No one will leave them alone anyway, so why not release new music? Mindy was at the stage in her career where she could sneeze into the microphone and it would be a hit, but as a musical genius her creative energy actually seriously needed to be purged, and she DID love her fans. They just weren't allowed to touch her. She knew how badly it sucked when favorite artists don't release albums for ages. Because of her fans she was wealthy in the first place, so in ways she didn't usually admit she loved them. Free tickets were given out constantly as well as backstage passes, she visited hospitals, headed charity funds, front-womaned campaigns, gave away freebies at shows constantly, gave really cool gifts when her fan clubs were joined, and did dish out free food by the masses for people waiting both to buy tickets for and get into her concerts. Autograph signings she was cold, but she had to be. People frightened her. As far as material things went her fans couldn't complain, but she didn't know James at the time to explain all this to him. There was no way he could know just what this meant to her. She would parade him around like a pony at events and such if he would just let her. She adored him. Loved didn't even really suffice. It was pure adoration.

No one got to know her body the way he did, and no one ever would.

…

"Mmm Jamie…" arching her back and riding James harder Mindy sat straddled in his lap and moaned, "So good, baby…you fuck me so perfect"

"You like this, Baby Doll?" panting he thrust up harder, "You like it when I fuck you like this?"

"Mmmm do you like sex on a boat, Jamie?" smirking and pulling back his captain hat she giggled, "I know you wanted to do this…" she smiled weakly, "are you glad we did?"

"Oh Baby Doll…" moaning he nodded, "so fucking glad"

"Mmmm I'm glad too" nodding she wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her legs wider to take as much of his cock as she possibly could. She absolutely loved when he got deep enough that his tightened balls would press and grind into her skin. That was her favorite tease too. She would sit between his cock and balls and just rub herself until he was so hard he accidentally came a few times. She loved it though; she would rub it all over herself and keep going. Dry humping was actually one of her favorite things to do with him even when they were fully clothed. If the two of them were sitting in the living room, kitchen, or any public place where they feared being walked in on they would just make out and press against the other until they came. James would at least unzip his jeans sometimes so his cock could breathe after getting so hard.

Sometimes he would lay her on the table and dry hump that way, which she absolutely loved until he couldn't take it anymore and would switch to fucking her.

"Mmmm Jamie…" kissing him deeper she rode him harder and pet his hair, smiling as the wind swept his hair and he grinned right back. She never wanted to leave this not for a second. Everything she ever wanted in her life was sitting right below her begging for more.

…

"Can we not go home?" holding her glass of wine Mindy frowned while leaning over the railing of the speedboat catching the dark red sunset as James stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist.

Smiling at first he wanted to nod. He wanted to spend the rest of his life just like this with her, doing whatever they wanted and not having a care in the world.

"Don't you miss the babies, Baby Doll?" frowning he nuzzled her neck when she actually shook her head, cried loudly, and hugged him. HE was where she wanted to be. Nowhere else with no one else.


	61. Chapter 61

**Esha Napoleon **and** cathy**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: Mindy does love her children but honestly? If James said the word she'd happily not go back. It's so much more simple out there for the both of them there. It's only them and the stress and bullshit that was tearing them apart before is gone. It sounds shitty to say it but she's afraid that if they go back, they'll lose all that they worked on.

…

James had his arms tightly coiled around Mindy as they laid together in bed. There had been no sleeping the entire time they had been on the boat so after coming back to their room and a few more rounds of sex they had pretty much passed out in exhaustion. He had woken up first and he had gently brushed her long mane of raven hair out of her face so he could watch her face as she slept. Her head was resting on his chest and the coldness of her flesh didn't even bother him anymore he was so used to it. A few of his fingers were lightly playing with her hair and when she sighed and shifted slightly in her sleep he smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you Baby Doll." His voice was barely above a whisper so he wouldn't disturb her. He had no idea what time it even was and he really didn't want to know. Time was going fast enough as it was. Their two weeks here were nearly up and he didn't want that to be the case. The time they had spent here in Aruba had been so perfect and he didn't want it to end. He missed the babies yes but he would be lying if he said he wouldn't jump at the chance to just stay here with Mindy forever if it was truly a possibility. Here there was nothing to worry about. No responsibilities, no assholes trying to make their love into something it wasn't, no pressure or stress that came with real life. They could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted and sure, the majority of what they did was have sex but who's business was that besides their own? They were obsessed with each other and they were happy doing it. They were happy again, after all the badness and bullshit and even though they couldn't just stay here in Aruba, he was going to make damn sure they stayed happy. No more fights, no more getting ripped apart. They had had so much thrown at them but they were still standing and he wouldn't have it any other way.

There was no life for him without her. She was his world and when he had thought she had died, his suicide attempt had been fully meant to succeed. He couldn't live without her. He wouldn't even think of it. He needed her all the time. All day, every second of the day. She was his Baby Doll, he needed her. He loved her so much; words really could not fully do his feelings for her justice. Everything about her drove him wild. The way she looked at him, the way she touched him, her scent, the way she responded when he touched her, the way she poked her tongue between her teeth, her laugh…just everything about her made her perfect to him.

He was selfish with her. He knew that. The only people he willingly shared her with were the kids. The thing was though, he just wanted to protect her. The rest of the world seemed to just love tearing her down. The media blasted her over her figure whenever they saw fit, because god forbid she wasn't a stick figure Barbie. They made her see herself as fat which meant she would go and try to lose weight and disappear on him. And he couldn't let that happen. The very notion of her being fat was ridiculous to him and the idea of her trying to waste herself away to fit in with that image sent him into a tizzy. She couldn't waste away on him. He couldn't ever let her do that again. He had seen her get to the point where she was fainting from the shit and it had killed him to see it. The person he loved the most had been slipping away from him so he pulled her out of that bullshit. He loved her so much but he couldn't let her do that to herself. He wouldn't have her anymore if he did.

He kissed the top of her head again and nuzzled his face against her hair, breathing in her shampoo and smiling softly. He could start touching her and see if that woke her up. That was always fun. But then he looked at her sleeping face again and decided that for now, he was much more content with just watching her.

…

"What do you want to do tonight Baby Doll?" James asked later when he and Mindy were in the shower together. He was currently shampooing her hair while kissing and nipping at her neck and collarbone, which made her giggle loudly.

"I want to go out tonight Jamie," she replied. She was running her hands all over his body, using the excuse of "washing" him as an excuse to grope him (not that she actually needed the excuse. She had full reign to grope him as much as she pleased). "I want to get you drunk Jamie."

"Oh do you now?" He smirked and nipped against at her neck, his eyes going down and admiring the water going down her body. "Are you thinking about taking advantage of me Baby Doll?"

"Maybe," she admitted, poking her tongue between her teeth and giggling girlishly.

"Well then, I just can't pass an opportunity like that up." He rubbed the tip of his nose against hers and grinned. "I'll get as drunk as you want."

"Good boy." She jumped up and hooked her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He put his hands on her lower back and kissed her hard, pressing her up against the wall and getting lost in yet another make-out session.

…

Mindy was in the midst of changing into the little red dress she was going to be wearing for their little outing tonight when she glanced over and caught sight of James changing. He had put on a pair of black jeans and was just sliding on a dark purple button up shirt. She felt a tingle go through her as he stood there for a few seconds with his shirt unbuttoned. She personally loved that look although if he kept it much longer they wouldn't be leaving the room for the rest of the night.

"Fucking mother fuckers," he muttered under his breath as he started trying to button up his shirt. The buttons were a lot smaller than his fingers so he was having some trouble. "Fucking button you cocksuckers."

"Jamie darling, the buttons do not understand you," Mindy reminded him gently.

"Well they need to," he said with a pout. "Because they're pissing me off."

"Awww Jamie Darling…" Mindy went over to him and gently swatted his hands away. "Let me do it." She started to button up him up but then got distracted by the sight of his abs. She started tracing her fingers across them, smirking slightly before pushing him back on the bed and unbuttoning his shirt so she could start placing kisses all over them.

"Mmmm Baby Doll…" James watched her happily, already arching up towards her mouth. "Oh yes Baby Doll." He hissed happily as she bit and sucked on his flesh. "I love your mouth Baby Doll."

The smirk on her face got even bigger. "If you love my mouth NOW…" she started rubbing his cock through his jeans, making sure he got nice and hard before unbuttoning his jeans and releasing it from its confines "you're about to REALLY love it." She wrapped her mouth around his cock and began to suck, making him throw his head back and moan loudly.

…

The club was blaring music that James couldn't even begin to know and he tightened his hold on Mindy and rested his chin on her shoulder. They had themselves a little private booth and she was in the process of pouring him several shots of tequila to down. "Baby Doll I can do it-"

"I want to do it Jamie," she assured him. "I want to get you nice and drunk." Her own Hurricane was forgotten for the moment as she finished pouring him his shots. "There you go!" she said happily. "Drink drink drink drink!"

He laughed and kissed her cheek. "Okay okay I'm drinking." He grabbed the first shot and downed it fast. Another song was playing and he knew he had heard it before but couldn't begin to identify the name of it and who the artist was. All this was Mindy's taste of music. He himself was more of a classic rock kind of guy, or "old people music" as Mindy had lovingly put it. If she were anyone else he would have pointed out his old people music was at least actually music as opposed to the noise she listened to, but she was Baby Doll so he didn't say anything about it. He just listened to what she wanted unless they were apart for some reason and then he cranked up his stuff. Elizabeth had already seemed to take a liking to AC/DC, which thrilled him to no end. She might have also taken a liking to Led Zepplin since he caught her grabbing one of the CDs he had but given that she immediately put it in her mouth once she had it, he wasn't sure if she liked it as much as she saw it as a chew toy.

Every time he polished off a shot she was right there feeding him another one, happily sipping her own drink the entire time. His tolerance was usually pretty good but the combination of how much he was drinking and how fast he was doing it made it so the alcohol got to him a lot faster than it normally did.

"Baby Doll…" He nuzzled his face into her neck and hair, his breathing tickling her and making her giggle loudly.

"Yes Jamie darling?" She turned her head to look at him and he smiled gave her an Eskimo kiss.

"You smell nice."

"I do?"

"Yes." He nodded earnestly and looked at her with wide eyes. "Uh huh! You smell reaaaallllllly nice." He put his face back down in her neck and breathed in deeply.

She just completely melted on the spot. He was just so cute when he was drunk. She seriously fell in love with him even more when he was like this. "You smell better," she informed him.

"Nooo YOU smell better Baby Doll." He started placing sloppy kisses all over her neck. "And taste better." He actually licked the side of her neck, which made her gasp loudly.

"Ack! Jamie germs!"

_She want it, I can tell she want it_

_Want me to push up on it_

_Fore she know when I'm all on it_

_We get the party going, liquor flowing this is fire_

_50 and Jeremih number one there's nothing higher_

_(won't you go and)_

_Get it, get it (I see you baby)_

"Jamie!" Mindy practically leapt out of his lap and grabbed him by his hand. "Come on Jamie come on we have to dance!"

"Dance?" James blinked and allowed her to pull him up to his feet and drag him out to the floor. "Baby Doll I don't know how!"

"You will learn my darling!"

_Work it, work it, work it, work it_

_(won't you, just put it down on me)_

_Get it, get it (put it down on me)_

_Work it, work it_

_Break it, break it, down_

Mindy got them right in the middle of the floor and put his hands on her hips. He was trying to explain to her that men his size didn't dance and if they did it was just scary. He never got a chance to get all of that out though. As soon as his hands were on her she pressed herself up against his crotch and started grinding to the beat.

_Okay she headed to the dance floor_

_And she slowly start to poppin' it_

_Something like my wrist cause everybody got to watching it_

_Girl you got that secret treasure_

_I'm gonna put that lock on it_

_Don't care what they say I would be stupid to be not on it_

There really was nothing like Mindy's dancing. She moved her body in ways James could hardly even imagine being able to do. Her entire body was moving and he was completely entranced by it, not even realizing he was grinding his groin back against her as she danced.

_Heard you got that sticky_

_Let's go and take nine shots we'll just call it fifty_

_And I'm gonna lick it, lick it, lick it,_

_Till the hicky have her river running_

_Keep you running till your whimpy_

_(Bang bang bang bang)_

She reached back and grabbed his ass so she could pull him even closer as she grinded against him even harder.

_Oh you look so sweet_

_What you work in Paris_

_Look at your physique_

_Girl you are a beauty, well I am a beast_

_They must have been trippin' to let me off the leash_

"Jesus Christ Baby Doll," he groaned, his cock rock hard inside of his jeans.

_I like the way you grind that booty on me_

_Shorty you a dime why you looking lonely?_

_We'll buy another round and it's all on me_

_Just put it down on me_

_Put it down on me_

_Down down on me_

_Put it down on me_

_Don't throw it off the mound_

_Show me how it's gonn' be_

_Girl all I really want is you down on me_

_Put it down on me_

James's hands were moving all over her body as he tried to move himself as best he could to the beat. She titled her head back to look up at him and he kissed her hard, his hands blatantly going up to her breasts and squeezing and kneading them. To hell with the people around them. He wanted her so bad it was making his head spin.

_Systems thumping, party jumping_

_Shorty she's a perfect ten_

_She rock her hips than roll her hips_

_Than drop it down like it's nothing_

_She shaped just like an hour glass_

_See how fast an hour passed_

_Time flies when I'm on that ass_

_But I won't put our shit on blast_

Mindy turned herself around and hooked her fingers into the belt loops of his jeans as she danced. James licked his lips and grabbed her ass, squeezing it and pushing her more against him, his cock pressing against her shamelessly.

_Work it like a pro, pro, pro_

_Sit and watch it go, go, go_

_Do her thing all on the floor_

_She bounce it fast and shake it slow_

_So sexual, incredible_

_She beautiful, she edible,_

_I got her, I won't let her go_

_I ain't see nothing better yo_

"You want me Jamie?" Mindy asked as she placed her hand over the bulge of his jeans.

"Oh fuck yes," he replied. He was grinding against her hand desperately and when she took it away he groaned loudly in disappointment. "Baby Doll please…"

She jumped up on him, hooking her arms and legs around him while she kept grinding into him. "Fuck me Jamie," she whispered in his ear. She grinded against him even harder and giggled as he started stumbling for the bathroom. "Fuck me hard."

_Look at how she twurk it_

_The way she work it_

_Make me wanna hit it, hit it,_

_Heaven when I'm in it, in it_

_If I do not fit I'm gonna make it_

_Girl you can take it_

_Don't stop, get it, get it_

Given how big of a drunk horny mess he was, it was pretty amazing James got them to the bathroom at all. He pushed several people out of the way while he was doing it and nearly knocked some drinks out of their hands but he couldn't give the tiniest bit of fuck. Once in the bathroom he didn't even check to see if there was anyone else around. He just kissed Mindy hard, getting them into the nearest stall and slamming it shut. "Fuck Baby Doll…"

"Mmm Jamie." She wiggled out of his grasp so she could lock the door and then push him up against the wall and jump back on him. Her hands were working to get his cock out of his jeans while he ripped her soaked panties off and shoved them into his pocket.

"Baby Doll…oh fuck!" The instant his cock was freed she impaled herself on it, nearly making him cum on the spot.

"Hold on for me Jamie," she ordered. She kissed him hard, sliding her tongue into her mouth and digging her nails into her shirt. "Hold on for me."

He nodded and kissed her back, sliding his tongue in her mouth in return. Once he had enough time to adjust she started to ride him, her lips not leaving his until they both absolutely had to breathe. Then she switched to kissing and biting at his neck.

"Oh god Baby Doll…" He was thrusting up into her frantically, not even beginning to be anything resembling quiet. One of his arms were around her to help hold her on to him and his free hand was pulling her breasts out of her dress so he could play with them. "Fucking yes. Fucking love it when you ride me."

"I know you do Jamie." Mindy bit his earlobe before reaching down to play with his balls. "You want me just like this? Or do you want me harder?"

He moaned loudly and thrusted up into her real hard. That was his answer to her but she wasn't going to accept just that.

"Tell me Jamie," she ordered. "You have to say it."

"Harder Baby Doll," he begged. He was begging shamelessly and he didn't give a damn who could be hearing him. "Harder fucking harder!"

Mindy grinned and started riding him harder, her moans mixing in with his. He was trying to move in sync with her and she knew he was very very close to going over the edge. "Cum for me Jamie," she ordered. She was picking up her pace even more while nipping at his neck. "Cum for me Jamie cum for me."

"Baby Dolllll…fuck fuck fuck!" She had bit down on his neck hard enough to draw blood and that was it. He came ever harder than he normally did, his orgasm triggering hers and she happily screamed his name as it ripped through her.


	62. Chapter 62

**jadeMK11**: Well there's nothing quite like drunk Jamie. She finds him to be quite cute. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: I know. It really is too sweet. **Esha Napoleon** and **cathy**: Thank you!

…

The second to last night of their time in Aruba, Mindy lied straddled over James' waist as he slept. Both completely naked they had been making love all night yet she wasn't finished. Slowly her little hands caressed his sculpted abs, lightly digging into the hard flesh and running all over the washboard. His physique was amazing to look at, his muscles had muscles. He didn't have an ounce of fat on him. Even his lower abs were super-impressive. Slowly she kissed his upper abs, her hands slowly rubbing up his chest and her lips floated over his tanned skin. Slowly she kissed his nipples one at a time before drawing them into her mouth and sucking gently. He stirred in his sleep as she did so, which made her beyond wet especially when subconsciously he bucked his hips up against her wetness.

"Oh Jamie!" moaning she rocked back against him, watching his cock harden in his sleep before stroking it and leaning to start kissing his neck, "Mmmm yes Jamie that's it, baby! That's it perfect!"

He was sleeping, but the pace he was bucking his hips at increased and she rode him even harder, staring at the base of his cock and how badly the vein underneath was popping out from being rubbed against her pussy that way.

"Mmm you like this, Jamie?" smiling she pumped his cock harder and noticed how wet his cock and balls were becoming from her, "You like playing with my pussy, Jamie? Huh? Does this feel good?"

Moaning in his sleep he bucked up harder, making her throw her head back and moan rubbing against his cock harder. As he became nearly purple with stiffness she had so many things she wanted to do to his cock: suck it, lick it, stroke it, push it inside her and fuck it until she was about ready to cum and then pull out and play with it more before fucking again…

Already precum beaded and began to leak down over the head of his cock, slowly getting ready to drip when she swirled her tongue and lapped it up. His cock twitched at the contact, his hips arching up for more and her tongue quickly began to lick the head. Precum tasted so good she started lightly sucking the head to get all of it out before dragging her tongue from the base of his cock up to the head, where she would lightly suck for a few seconds before licking the vein underneath even harder. His hips jerked and he moaned, thrusting slowly into her mouth and she sucked him hard right back.

Too wet to function she straddled his right thigh and humped the muscular flesh as she sucked his cock, drawing as much of it as she could. It was good but she wanted more, so taking one of his hands as she sucked him hard, she placed the fingers on her wet pussy and rubbed happily.

Dropping her mouth to his tightened balls she sucked one at a time while sliding the three wet fingers of his inside her, riding them hard and fast. His cock was begging for contact yet again, so sliding three fingers inside him she moved her mouth back up to his cock until he came hard and she swallowed every drop.

"Mmmmm Jamie!" slowly running her tongue along the underside of his throbbing cock as his entire body shivered from that climax she began to stroke once again. Softer at first she went before finally increasing pressure and he rode her hand in his sleep. "Get hard for me, come on Jamie baby…" she knew he was sleeping, but still she kissed him and fingered herself with his hand as hard as she could. Since he was sleeping his fingers had this natural bend which felt so good against her walls she was moaning louder every second. "Oh James!"

Keeping his long fingers inside her pussy Mindy breathed hard and slid three of her fingers back inside him hoping it would make him hard. His body's response to the fingering was becoming so hard Mindy had to bend over and lightly suck the head of his cock before kissing the tip and adjusting her position so her bare wet pussy was completely rubbing against his shaft. The vein which was coursing a heavy flow of blood pumped against her clit, which made her extremely happy and moaning she tried to ride that too.

"James…" humping his shaft lightly she moaned, "oh James! Oh James yes!"

In his sleep his hips rolled against hers and she gasped; throwing her head back before humping his shaft dry harder and moaning. Wet as ever she could have rubbed against him like that all night, but she had teased his cock to the point that if she didn't fuck him soon it would get ugly. He was so completely rock hard he was having issues breathing, but the moment Mindy opened her legs and slowly lowered herself onto his cock he was moaning. Still asleep he began to grind his groin, not even realizing how hard he was getting still as he fucked her.

"Oh fuck me…" moaning she opened her legs wider and rode him harder, "Oh fuck yes James, yes!"

Placing a hand on his abs she leaned forwards and fucked him harder that way, loving how much his hard thick cock stretched her out. The only sound consisted of breathing and his hard cock slipping in and out of her saturated pussy.

Throwing her head back she concentrating on riding him for as long as she could, but James was asleep and couldn't realistically hold on THAT long. His breathing hitched and he came hard, which immediately triggered Mindy's orgasm and she was dying she was so out of breath. Panting for air she leaned in and kissed him slowly, loving how he too was trying desperately to catch his breath after their shared orgasm.

He looked so peaceful when he slept, his perfect features just too much for her so she had to sit there and stare as long as she could. From the perfect profile of his face to the perfect body he rocked she couldn't even pretend she wanted to focus her attention anywhere else. All she cared about was James, and he was just sitting there beautiful in her lap. There was love, and then there was what she felt for him. It was just beyond any level of anything, and she was so damn proud of it. He belonged to only her.

…

The next day James and Mindy lay on the sand just watching the waves pull in and out from a nice distance. James sat nearly on his back propped on his elbows and Mindy had one leg just casually swung over his waist and her head under his chin. Both her little arms wrapped around his body tight and slowly he tilted her chin up so their lips could meet.

They both had drinks at their sides and they had just gotten their second lunch. The signature Aruban winds had been whipping their hair around and James was having a hard time keeping it out of his mouth so he wouldn't choke.

"I do not wanna leave…" Mindy shook her head and whimpered, glancing up at James with trembling lips and watery blue eyes, "I do not wanna go home I do NOT I don't!"

"But Baby Doll…" kissing her forehead he gently slid his tongue into her mouth for a few moments before speaking so softly she could barely hear him, "We have the babies to go home to…" frowning he pet her face and gave her a long kiss, "and Aiden…don't you want to play with Aiden and Lizzie Bear and Princess and the twins and Pumpkin?"

Nodding absently Mindy leaned in and kissed him, but then frowned and whimpered.

"But I want to be with YOU Jamie I only want to be with you all the time forever-"

"Hey hey hey hey hey…" smiling softly and pouting his lips he shook his head and kissed her, "Baby Doll we're MARRIED! Our LIVES are one now…we're ALWAYS going to be together, sweetheart!"

"But…" sniffling she dropped her eyes and whimpered, burying her face in his neck and kissing the skin. He was moved. She only wanted to be with him and nothing else, and though he happily would live that way with her for the rest of their lives reality was reality and they had children who needed them. She was known to act irrationally more often than not, so his main objective was to ride this wave and hopefully not have to do it again until they got home.

Admittedly he felt bad about leaving. The two weeks they had spent were beyond amazing and before it really felt like it even began it was over. They had to go home tomorrow and that was clearly the last thing they both wanted.

"Baby Doll just hear me out…" rubbing noses with her he smiled weakly, "we fixed everything…there's no more fighting, no more nothing…we RE-married, remember?" grinning now he pinched her cheek until she giggled, "That means we started over! We made new promises to each other no more fighting or nothing! You don't think we'll fuck anymore?"

Worriedly she didn't answer, and that made him chuckle lowly and kiss her temple.

"We're MARRIED, Baby Doll…that's all we do anymore for fun"

Giggling she kissed him hard and traced his beautifully shaped lips with her nails, sucking his plump bottom lip and following up with the extremely thin upper lip next.

"I love you, Jamie…" nodding she buried her face in his neck and he smiled before kissing her harder.

"I love YOU, my beautiful Baby Doll" he took a sip of his tequila before glancing down at her drink and noticing that it looked off compared to other drinks. He didn't know why…something was weird about it.

"I have been feeling funny…" she began with a pout and a nod, which made James frown and kiss her cheek as hard as he could.

"What do you mean by funny, Baby Doll?"

"Well…" she shrugged and blew air past her lips, "I dunno. I feel sick like I cannot eat much or do much today I dunno why it is off an weird I do not feel like me"

"Do you need to see a doctor?" of course he was thinking that way. Mindy sniffled and shook her head, leaning up and kissing him before stroking his cheek. His skin was so soft it drove her crazy. The guy put zero effort in his appearance yet he looked like a god. Not one woman at the resort wasn't giving her the death glare for being with him. He was just THAT beautiful. There wasn't a place James went where he wasn't captivating attention from all angles. BMI-wise James had been considered the 'anatomically perfect' man by Men's Health magazine because he was just THAT perfect. James didn't even know they had done that until Mindy's rep called the house and informed James that he was featured in Men's Health. He was in practically every magazine but he never knew.

Out of curiosity he reached down and took a sip of her drink…it was just coke. There was no rum in it.

"I'm stunned you aren't drinking…" studying the drink he pouted his lips and shook his head, "what's going on with you?"

"Will this settle your curiosity?" smiling weakly she pulled out a little stick and handed it to him…and upon studying the object closely he realized it was a positive pregnancy test.


	63. Chapter 63

**Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Yeah it is yet that doesn't seem to stop them. They love making babies. **cathy **and **Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: Thank you and yes she is : )))) such joyous news for the holidays.

Note: This is the second to last chapter of this story. Details of the new one coming with the last one :))))

…

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" James asked for the hundredth time. He was supposed to be packing their stuff up so they could go and catch their flight home but any time she moved even an inch from her place on the bed he was all over, practically tripping over himself to give her anything else. "I could get you something to eat. Or are you thirsty? I can get you something to drink."

Mindy giggled and shook her head. All she had on was one of his t-shirts that was now going to be hers apparently and a pair of his boxers on underneath. He had been doting on her nonstop since she broke the news of her pregnancy to him and she had taken advantage of it to claim some of his clothing. "I'm fine Jamie."

"Are you sure?" James took one of her hands and started kissing her fingers. He was positively elated about the fact they were having another child. This time, absolutely everything was going to go as smooth as it possibly could. No drama, no kidnappings, no badness whatsoever. It was going to be completely perfect and that was just that damn it.

"Well…" Mindy stretched out her arms out and completely forgetting about the packing that needed to be finished, he climbed on to the bed and wrapped his arms around her. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him as well, even though there was no way her arms could fit all the way around his large body.

"This better Baby Doll?" he asked as he nuzzled her face.

She smiled and nodded. "Much better." She giggled loudly as he continued to nuzzle her. "Jamie?"

"Yes Baby Doll?" He grinned as she started to pet his face.

"I" she stopped to kiss him and he kissed her back eagerly, very gently nibbling on her lower lip "played with you while you slept last night."

His eyebrows went up and a smile spread across his face. He was very well aware of the fact that she did that. She made a point of telling him all about it pretty much any chance she got. He found it pretty damn arousing that she did that. Thinking about her doing anything she wanted to his sleeping body…oh yeah, he needed to hear more.

"You did?" He pressed his forehead against hers as one of his hands drifted up her shirt, easily undoing her bra so he could get it out of the way.

"Mmmhmm." She kissed him hard, happily wrapping her legs around him as he settled himself on top of her. "You were so hard Jamie."

"I bet I was." He started kissing his way across her neck and collarbone, lightly sucking and nibbling her pale skin. Her legs were wrapping around him even more tightly and she was already grinding her groin against his. Packing was definitely the furthest thing from their minds now. Why pack when they could have some more fun? "What exactly did you do Baby Doll?" He pulled up her shirt and circled her nipples with his tongue one at a time, smirking as she moaned and held his head to her harder. "Tell me what you did Baby Doll." He pressed his groin against her, grinding it and letting her know how hard he was getting.

"I-" she gasped as he grinded against her harder "-rubbed my pussy against your cock."

"Oooh Baby Doll that sounds so hot." Already he was having to unzip his jeans because his cock was straining so much inside of them. He also took her shirt off the rest of the way and helped her get his out of the way. "What else did you do?"

"I sucked you," she told him quickly, her little fingers digging into his back. "You tasted so good Jamie I had to."

"Were you wet Baby Doll?" His cock was begging to take all the way out and slide inside of her but he was trying to hold back for awhile longer

Mindy nodded. "I was so wet I took your fingers and put them inside me so I could ride them."

That just gave James all kinds of lovely mental images. "God damn Baby Doll…" Off came the boxers she had on and he slid his body down so he could give her clit a kiss while rubbing slow circles around her pussy. She was so wet that he easily slid two fingers into her and used them to finger her a bit before sliding in a third one. "Anything else Baby Doll?"

"I fingered you Jamie I did. I sucked you and fingered you until you came and then I got you hard all over again so I could rub your cock against my pussy and then fuck you." She was riding his fingers hard and reaching down to hold his head against her clit, which he gladly started to nibble on. "Jamie!"

"Mmmm Baby Doll…" His eyes were completely focused on watching his fingers slide in and out of her while his tongue circled her clit, taking the occasional nibble.

"Jamie Jamie Jamie!" Mindy was riding his fingers even harder and bucking against his mouth happily. James was using his free hand to try take off his jeans and boxers while fingering and licking her even faster. His cock was just begging for any kind of contact at this point so, knowing full well that it drove her crazy, he started humping the bed as he switched his fingers with his tongue.

"Yes yes yes Jamie!" Around his head her legs went and she was humping his face so hard that it really was a miracle that she wasn't breaking his nose. He really should have thought about holding her hips down but he didn't. He just lapped at her wetness more quickly, sliding his tongue even deeper and humping the bed harder until she came. He eagerly lapped her juices up before moving himself back up her body. His cock was throbbing so badly that he didn't even give her time to recover. He just slid into her, moaning into her mouth as he kissed her. "Fuck Baby Doll so tight."

"Mmm Jamie so big." She was moving against him already so he started thrusting, which made her throw her head back and moan. "Stretch my pussy so good."

"It stays so tight though." He kissed her more, one of his hands going down and resting over her stomach. "Fucking so tight I love it." He rested his forehead against hers and traced little circles on her stomach with his thumb. Another child was growing inside of her. They were having another baby. It really just thrilled him to no end. He loved her so much and creating a child with her…words really couldn't do his feelings on the matter justice. "I love you Baby Doll." He brushed the tip of his nose against hers. "I love you so much."

"I love you more Jamie," she replied. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. He kissed her back eagerly, his lips staying fused with hers until they moaned from their shared climax.

…

Somehow James and Mindy managed to make it to their flight on time. Mindy cried and protested leaving once again but James got her calmed down the way only he could. He held her in his lap on the way to the airport and then carried her right through it and on to the plane, where he sat down with her in his lap. She had her head nestled under his chin and he had both arms wrapped around her, one hand holding hers and the other resting on her stomach. He kissed the top of her head and cooed sweet nothings into her ear for a good two hours. The rest of the ride was spent with them passing Mindy's sketch pad back and forth, getting each other to draw things. Of course, given the fact that James had about as much artistic talent as a retarded monkey, it didn't really go so well for him.

"Jamie darling what is that?" she asked as she tried to contain her giggles. He was concentrating so hard on the drawing that was turning out to be some sort of giant lump.

"It's supposed to be a kola bear," James said with a pout. He tilted his head to the side and examined his drawing with critical eyes. "Key words: supposed to be."

"Maybe if you turn it upside down," Mindy suggested. She turned the sketch pad upside down so they could look. It didn't look any closer to a kola bear that way, which made him pout and shake his head.

"It's not fair! One simple kola bear is all I want to draw and I can't even do that." He set the pastel back and scowled at it. "Stupid me can't even-"

"Sssshhh." Mindy kissed him quickly and shook her head. "Do not talk like that Jamie darling." She kissed him again. "I love non-artistic you. You are not stupid don't talk like that."

James smiled a bit and pet her hair gently. "Could you draw the kola bear for me?"

"What is your obsession with kola bears darling?"

"I like them. They're all…kola-y."

Mindy gave him a strange look. "You are weird my darling."

He let out an insulted gasp. "Well I never!"

"You just did." She poked his chest and gave him her best tough guy look. "What are you going to do about it?"

A smirk slowly spread across his face and he started to tickle her ribs. "This!"

"JAMIE!" They were attracting all sorts of attention but neither one of them cared. "No!"

"No? Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Fiiine." He sighed dramatically and kissed her, the kola bear drawing being temporarily forgotten for a make-out session.

…

"Mommy! Daddy! Mommy Mommy! Daddy Daddy!" These were the cries that greeted James and Mindy the instant they walked through the front door. Thorn and Scarlett came at them first, Thorn jumping into James's arms while Oxa circled his legs and Scarlett hugged Mindy.

"Careful careful careful with Mommy," James said as he kissed Thorn's cheek.

"Jamie darling they're fine," Mindy assured him.

"Why do we have to be careful?" Thorn asked. She wiggled out of James's grasp so she and Scarlett could switch parents.

"Yeah Daddy, why do we have to be careful with Mommy?" Scarlett wrapped her arms around James's neck and rubbed noses with him.

"We'll tell everyone over dinner," he promised. He reached down and patted Oxa's head before kissing Mindy's cheek.

"Mommy!" Here came Amber and she of course made a beeline for Mindy. James waited until she was hugging Mindy before sneaking a kiss on the top of her head. "Hi Pumpkin." They hadn't been close in what was pretty much forever and he hated it. He wanted to change it back to how they were before.

"Daddy!" Connor nearly fell face first as he came running but he caught himself in time to launch himself at James.

"Geez Connor!" Scarlett rolled her eyes at him. "He's been following Taylor everywhere Daddy. He won't ever stop."

"Well WHAT ELSE am I supposed to do?" Connor asked as he and James hugged. "Coopy was being mean and then he went bye bye-"

"He went bye bye?" James asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh huh! We haven't been able to find him anywhere!" Connor pouted his lips and tried to shake the hair that was getting in his eyes away. "He went bye bye."

James shared a glance with Mindy. That sounded a little bit too good to be true for him. Knowing Cooper, now that Mindy was back home, it wouldn't be long before he came crawling back home like nothing had ever happened. It was not something James wanted to put up with at all and quite frankly, he wasn't going to do it. If Cooper thought he could come back and start pulling any kind of crap he was sadly mistaken.

"Daddy!"

The thoughts about Cooper were driven right out of his mind when he caught sight of Taylor coming at them with Aiden in her arms and Chelsea and Elizabeth trotting in front of her. Chelsea had on the blue princess outfit James had gotten her and she was carrying Stickers in one arm while waving to him with her free hand. Elizabeth attempted to walk to him, but when she realized that Chelsea was going faster than her she resorted to crawling. Lammy was hanging from her mouth and James had to chuckle at that. "Princess! Lizzie Bear!" He kissed the side of Scarlett's head before setting her down and picking up the two little girls coming at him.

"Da Da Da!" Elizabeth took Lammy out of her mouth so she could give James a kiss.

"I've got the Stickers," Chelsea said with a nod.

"I see that," James said as he nommed on Elizabeth's cheek, making her squeal loudly. "Did you and Stickers miss Mommy and Daddy?"

"Yes," Chelsea confirmed with a firm nod. "You and Mommy build castle."

"Yes yes I remember darling."

"With Princess. I'm Princess."

"Of course you are. I haven't forgotten."

"Da Da Da!" Elizabeth said impatiently.

"Don't worry Lizzie, I didn't forget about you." He gave her and Lammy an extra kiss before looking at Mindy, who had taken Aiden from Taylor and was giving him kisses all over his face. "And there's my boy.." He joined Mindy on the Aiden kissage and laughed as his son grabbed his nose and gave it a hard squeeze. "You're going to be a big strong boy aren't you?"

"Of course he will," Mindy said with a nod. "He's going to be just like his daddy."

"So he's never going to stop having sex either?" Connor blurted out.

James choked on the breath he took while Taylor tried to cover up the giggle that tried to escape her and Mindy and Amber looked at Connor in exasperation.

"What?" Connor said innocently. "What did I say?"

…

"Anchovies anchovies you're so delicious! I love you more than all the other fishes!" Connor sang as he happily munched on his pizza. James just had pizza delivered so Mindy didn't have to lift a finger by cooking. Connor had begged for an anchovy and mushroom pizza so James had gotten him one to eat himself while getting pineapple and triple meat for the rest of them.

"Ewwwww," Thorn said in disgust. "That is disgusting."

"And why are you singing to the anchovies?" Scarlett said with a shake of her head. "That's just weird."

"They're my favorite!" Connor insisted. "Nobody else likes them so I get ALL of them."

"At least it's not as bad as the peanut butter and pickle sandwiches," Taylor pointed out. Her eyes were on James and Mindy, who were being extra lovey dovey with each other. "So did you guys have a nice time?"

"Oh yes," James said all too happily. He nuzzled Mindy's neck and smiled. "We had a very very nice time. And we have something very important to tell you all."

"Mommy's pregnant," Amber blurted out.

"Amber Rose!" Mindy shook her head. "Daddy and I wanted to say it."

"How did you know?" James asked with a pout.

"…You two were alone together on an island for two weeks. What else was going to happen?" She shook her head at them and looked at Taylor. "Pass me another napkin please."


	64. Chapter 64

**Esha Napoleon**: Thank you! **jadeMK11**: Yeah it's not terribly hard. But the way she did it didn't set well with Mommy and Daddy, as you'll see coming up. **Ilse'sPurpleSummer**: Amber knows their habits way too well. I think everyone does at this point. It'll be more surprising when Mindy's not pregnant quite frankly.

Annnd this is the final chapter in this doozy. Hard to believe really. Now Vermi and mine's next story is a little different. Instead of a direct sequel to this and our other three, we posed a "what if?" question to ourselves: what if James had met Mindy when she was seventeen and just entering the WWE (or WWF, as it was in 1999)? The answer is coming in our next story The Cradle of Love-which was named by the little shit known as Cooper fucking Lawson. Once he said it it stuck *glares at him*

Annny waaaaay, that one should be up within the next few days. Until then, hope you all enjoy this : ))))

…

"Ambie…" sighing Mindy flopped onto her back on Amber's bed as the pair sat alone in her room after dinner.

Since James was fairly mortified by the lack-of reaction that to him was the greatest news in the world, he took Aiden and Elizabeth with him and retreated into himself in his office. Mindy was embarrassed too so she took Amber up into her room to have some old-fashioned quality 'girl talk.'

James had been pretending to do 'work' in his office but in reality he was just sitting with his babies looking through photo albums to bide time. It was still hard for him to believe two of his own children were lying in his arms. A girl and a boy…Mindy had given him everything he could have ever asked for and beyond. Now they were having yet another child together when he didn't even believe Lizzie Bear was going to make it to birth…how could nobody care? Last he checked babies were supposed to be a joyous occasion, especially when the parents were as in love as he and Mindy. There was no way he was going back out into the wolves anytime soon, he had what he wanted in his lap and he would dwell as long as he could.

"Mommy…" Amber repeated just for the sake of it since Mindy didn't finish her sentence. Instead she sat on the edge of the bed brushing her hair as her mother pulled her knees up to her chest and frowned.

"You know, you guys all REALLY hurt me and Daddy today…" Mindy cringed, not sure if that was the proper way to begin but she had to say what she was feeling.

"Why?" raising an eyebrow Amber shrugged, "You just had a baby, got back from vacation, and ate dinner with us…what could have gone wrong?"

Mindy's eyes narrowed, "Daddy and I had something we wanted everyone to know"

"Nobody cares that you're pregnant. That's great for YOU, Mommy, that's one step closer you and James are to repopulating the human race"

"Amber Rose" her voice hardened and she scowled, "I do not find ANYTHING about this funny. I do not need YOU telling people I am pregnant"

"Everyone knew"

"Oh bull-fucking-SHIT everyone knew, Ambie! I am NOT taking this from you Daddy was SO happy until-"

"Until he came home to US?" Amber leaned forwards and snapped, "Yeah! He has his boy and his girl with you, why does he need anyone else?"

"He was SCARED of you Amber you're a fucking BITCH to him and-"

"Oh cry me a river, Mommy! James doesn't-"

"Look…" curling her lips Mindy flipped her hair and began shaking it out from anger, "regardless of how you feel about him…James is my husband. I would die for him, I live for him, and I will be with him for the rest of my life. There is not ONE THING James and I have not been through together to prove our fucking relationship"

"Everyone KNEW you were gonna be pregnant, Mommy!" Amber stamped her foot and threw her brush down on the mattress, "Honestly all you is makeout with James"

"So you would prefer us fighting and tearing each other's eyes out so we can go cry in a corner and sulk the rest of the day about it…?" Mindy's shapely medium-toned eyebrow rose and Amber didn't answer, that set off all sorts of nasty thoughts in Mindy's head, "You're fucking sick, you know that?"

She didn't mean to be saying these things, but she was defending James it was a reflex.

"I LOVE JAMES! And considering all we have been through I was hoping YOU of all people could at least PRETEND you're happy for us! I have all of you guys YES, but James and I only have TWO and soon three! It is not the same thing we have not been married forever even though I feel that way"

"Mommy" she ran a hand through her hair, "you revolve your life around him"

"Because I love him" Mindy nodded and admired her diamond wedding rings, "when you fall in love one day you will see…nobody could ever come close to Daddy in my heart. You know how badly he wanted a lot of babies, he loves being a Daddy for real"

"As opposed to us"

"Amber, you know as well as I do that the deal with stepparents is never going to change. I do not love Connor the way I love you babies, and James I am assuming is the other way around."

"The babies are his favorites" she meant Aiden and Lizzie Bear, and Mindy nodded.

"I am not surprised at all, he is a middle-aged guy starting over with two beautiful babies…of course they are his life. He thought he was done for over twenty years."

"So?" Amber shrugged, "That doesn't effect any of us"

"Do you love ME?" Mindy's eyebrows rose as she waited for a response from Amber, "Well DO you?"

Sniffling Amber nodded, "I love you Mommy"

"Do you respect me?"

Again Amber nodded.

"Then you are to respect James because James is a part of me. His bone marrow is in my body, his blood, his hair, his nails, we are having a baby…I cannot tell you what James is to me because there is no fair way you could ever understand. He saved my life…" sniffling and smiling weakly she nodded, "he saves my life every time I look at him…he's beautiful…in every way a person can be…" now she began bawling much to Amber's shock, "and he hates himself, Ambie! He can't look at himself in the mirror! I worship the ground he walks on and he hates himself! Yo-you kn-know how many n-n-n-nights he wakes up screaming? Crying in the dark? I look up to him as my role model, only he does not consider anything about him to be model-worthy! And he DOES love you, he loves EVERYONE! Yes of course he favors the babies but that does not mean he doesn't love you! And he loves ME most importantly! He will always take care of ME meaning he will always take care of US! He's my baby! I could not live a single day without him, babe…I miss him like crazy when he is not around he is my best friend in the whole world! There is not a single thing I would not do for him and if that is not love then tell me what is, Amber Rose, tell me!"

Amber didn't respond, which Mindy was clearly expecting and she nodded satisfactorily.

"I want you to be nice to him, do you understand me?" that was said flatter than iron, and Amber nodded quickly, "I love him, and that should be enough to earn your respect. I do not want him to feel like you hate him. I love him too much and we have come too far for him to feel inadequate"

Amber just nodded silently.

…

"Come here, Lizzie Bear" sitting in the sand James pulled out a sand crab and began playing with it right in front of Elizabeth, who wore a pink daisy swimsuit with sunglasses and a white bucket hat, and Aiden, who had on a blue singlet and a diaper, "Look at that! You guys see the crab?" he was making pinchers in their faces and Elizabeth nodded, laughing as Aiden gave a cute chubby grin.

"Crab!" Elizabeth shouted and looked to James for approval, and smiling he nodded.

"Good GIRL, Lizzie Bear" pressing a hard kiss to her cheek he peered out across the Pacific ocean and kissed Aiden as well, "You're so SMART yes you are! That's my smart girl!"

"DAD-dy!" clapping her hands to his cheeks Elizabeth grinned and it was returned, James leaning in and they kissed until Aiden decided he wanted Daddy time so he pulled James' hair.

"Hello…" smiling James leaned down and nommed all over Aiden's cheek, admiring his clone and kissing him harder.

Sniffling in the distance Amber headed over slowly, James not turning because the roar of the ocean tide drowned everything else out. Amber smiled though, hugging the back of his neck at first and kissing him on the lips before sitting in his lap and nestling into his chest. Wrapping his arms around the three of them James calmly watched the ocean and nuzzled Amber's neck occasionally.

…

"Mmmm Jamie…" Mindy's back arched in bed later that night as James slowly lapped at her pussy. Her legs had been hooked over his shoulders and her thighs gently compressing the sides of his head. Both little hands were woven into his soft dark hair and his tongue delved even deeper, his rock hard cock begging for contact so he slowly humped the bed. He was fucking her with his tongue, already two orgasms in and completely drenched in her juices.

Originally he had been making her a late-night dessert when she called him back upstairs, and upon entering the room she jumped on him and tackled him to the bed. From there a makeout session ensued that led to blowjobs and now he was eating her out. He had been fingering her periodically and now he was simply licking her.

"Oh James yes, yes!" bucking her hips up she rode his mouth and propped on her elbows so she could watch his mouth work on her. He licked harder, and her hands dug into his shoulders happily so she could keep riding him. "Mmmm Jamie Jamie don't stop please don't stop…" curling her lips and moaning she humped his mouth harder, "you're doing so perfect don't ever stop!"

As his tongue fucked her he would occasionally scrape his teeth against her clit and make her moan, eventually rubbing with his fingers until sweet juices covered his mouth once more and he licked her clean.

"So beautiful, Baby Doll…" purring he kissed up her lower abdomen until he reached her belly, where he just rested his head and traced circles on her skin with a weak smile on his face. Their child was growing inside her; though no one else was he couldn't have been more elated.

"I love you, Jamie…" moaning she pet his hair as he kissed all over her belly and rubbed it as he worked up her breasts and reached her mouth. There their tongues tangled and neither let go.

"Mmmm fuck" moaning he felt the head of his cock rubbing against her soaked pussy, and he had no national choice but to push inside quickly and begin to thrust.

"So big Jamie" moaning she tried to ride him harder when he pounded away.

"Fucking tight squeezing my cock so fucking tight…" grunting he thrust harder.

"Oh fuck me, Jamie" moaning she kissed him and nodded, "Can't get enough of your cock fuck me harder"

"Like this?" moaning he thrust harder and she nodded happily, moments later their climaxes drenched the sheets and they just lied beside the other. James dropped his head to her breast plate and snuggled for the night while Mindy hugged his large frame close.

"Boy or girl?" grinning Mindy kissed the top of his head and James shrugged.

"I want a healthy baby"

Mindy snorted and kissed his forehead, "You ALWAYS say that"

"Because I always mean it" raising his eyebrows he frowned until she leaned forwards and they kissed.

"Fine. Well I want a girl"

"Girl it is" nodding he kissed her and smiled at her belly, "You see that, Vanessa? Mommy wanted you to be a girl too!"

"Vanessa?" her smile brightened and he nodded, "You named her already?"

He gave her quite a cute nod, one that made her lean up and kiss him hard.

"Thank you…" he began meekly, which made her frown and touch his face.

"For what?"

"Not leaving me even after everything-"

"Oh JAMIE!" sighing she kissed him hard and shook her head, "NEVER!"

"Our anniversary is coming up" wagging his eyebrows he gave her a wink and a hard kiss to the lips, "I was thinking Santa Monica…"

"I think we have a weekend" winking she kissed him and he pet her face lovingly.


End file.
